OAK and Furrows rescue centre is asking the public to donate heat pads to help keep baby hedgehogs warm.

The wildlife rescue centre in Cricklade put out an appeal for heat lamps through its Facebook page after being inundated with the garden-dwelling creatures, recently taking in 25 baby hedgehogs.

A Staff member from Oak and Furrows told the Adver: “It’s the time of year for it definitely. They’ve all been bought into us from various different situations. Some nests are disturbed by accident, some we’ve just had in from a dog attack.

"Mainly just the baby's seem to have been abandoned by the mother is the main reason. They have litters from about six to eight normally.

“Everyone’s gardening and hedgehogs are nesting in the bushes so we are having an awful lot of calls about nests being disturbed in people’s gardens.”

The centre advised gardeners to check for nests before carrying out work.

Any one wishing to help the rescue centre provide a warm home for the hedgehogs can buy a heat mat through the Amazon wish list found on the centre's Facebook page.

A worrying report by the Hedgehog Preservation Society in February warned hedgehog numbers had declined by more than half since 2000, citing a decrease in the number of hedgerows and increase in traffic as a likely cause of the decline.