Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, visited the annual West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue Open Day on Saturday raising money to support the care of rescued hedgehogs.
The Rescue Centre, which takes in sick, injured, orphaned and abandoned hedgehogs, covers the northern half of the West Midlands and South Staffordshire. The Centre currently admits over 400 hedgehogs a year which need to be constantly observed and hand-fed throughout the summer until they are big enough to hibernate.
Gavin met with volunteers including Joan Lockley who was recognised by the IFAW in the House of Lords earlier this year for her charitable work. There was a variety of entertainment on offer including face painting, a tombola and lucky dip. The amount raised so far is £1163.13.
Cheslyn Hay resident Joan, set up the West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue 15 years ago after saving her first hedgehog, Spike. She has since set up the charity which cares and rehabilitates sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs across the Midlands and has since gone on to rescue more than 5,000 to date.
The charity relies completely on public donations and now has a small team of volunteers who attend local events to spread the word about Joan’s work and the plight of the British hedgehog which faces many threats including road accidents, poisoning by pesticides, litter and habitat loss.
Commenting on his visit Gavin said: “I always really enjoy visiting the West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue Open Day and meeting with Joan and her team. The charity does absolutely fantastic work to care for sick hedgehogs in order to release them back into the wild, when they are restored to full health.
“Despite the weather, everyone was in great spirits and it was brilliant to see so many people in attendance to support Joan and the charity. Being the only official hedgehog carer in the Midlands, hedgehogs are brought to her from far and wide and she completely dedicates her life to caring for them. I am delighted to hear that so much money was raised to help the Rescue Centre so that they can continue the great work that they do.”