A CHILDREN’S musician and Oxford’s ‘Mr Hedgehog’ have teamed up on a song to raise awareness about the plight of the prickly creatures.

Ecologist and author Hugh Warwick, also known as Hedgehog Hugh due to his efforts to protect the animals, has served as the inspiration for a tune by Nick Cope called 'Have you heard about Hugh'.

It tells the tale of one of the creatures becoming lost and getting into trouble on the A32.

Luckily, the poor state of the road leads to the hedgehog avoiding oncoming traffic by rolling into a pothole.

Mr Warwick said: “I first became aware of Nick when my children went to one of his shows and loved it. His music is something the whole family can enjoy.

"He's also really good at coming up with songs that teach children in a really understated way and the lyrics to this one highlight a real issue that is affecting hedgehogs and provide a really good insight into what is going on."

He added: "Unfortunately Nick had to go with the A32 to make it rhyme but it really should be the A34."

Mr Warwick, who lives in East Oxford, has been working to save the spiny species, whose numbers have plummeted across the UK in recent years.

This summer he created the HedgeOX campaign, which is calling for ‘hedgehog heroes’ to work with neighbours to make a ‘hedgehog highway’, cutting CD disk-sized holes in fences to allow hedgehogs to pass.

As part of HedgeOX Mr Warwick has also been running a Hedgehog Roadshow touring village halls, groups and clubs and teaching communities about how they can help.

He hopes the song will enable the message to spread even wider about the dangers facing the mammal in urban areas.

The song was originally created last year as part of Oxfordshire's Wood Festival and is now the title of Mr Cope's new album, with a cartoon image of the musician on the cover with a hedgehog.

Mr Warwick said: "We were both at Wood Festival last year when they chose hedgehogs as their theme so it seemed like the perfect fit.

"It's fantastic that the whole album is now named after the song, which has proved very popular."

Mr Cope will be launching the new album in the Jacqueline du Pré music building in Oxford's Cowley Place, with a series of shows that have already sold out.

Mr Warwick, who began working with hedgehogs more than 30 years ago, will also be at the event to talk about HedgeOX.

He said: "It will be a great chance to get people engaged and excited in helping hedgehogs."

To buy the album visit nickcope.co.uk or for more information about the campaign to preserve Oxfordshire's hedgehog population visit hedgeox.org.