A HEDGEHOG that was thrown into a rubbish bin has been rescued.

A member of the public heard the distressed hedgehog in a bin near a park in Bicester as it attempted to escape by knocking the metal bin with its nose.

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RSPCA Inspector Andy Eddy attended the rescue for the animal welfare charity and was able to reach down into the bin and carefully lift out the hedgehog.

Mr Eddy said: “We are so very grateful that the member of the public heard the noise and decided to investigate because there is no way this hedgehog would have been able to get out of the bin all by himself.

“There is no way he got himself in there either but it is not known what happened or how he came to be trapped. It is possible he was accidentally put in the bin with some rubbish perhaps. We just hope it wasn’t deliberate.

“After giving the hedgehog a helping hand, I took him to a wildlife centre for a check up as he had a sore nose possibly from rubbing against the side of the bin and was a little small to be out at this time of the year.”

Every autumn, in the run-up to hedgehog hibernation time, the animal charity sees a flood of these wild animals brought into its centres.

Hedgehogs are by far the most common species admitted to RSPCA wildlife centres across October and November and there have been 1,815 hedgehogs come through the doors of the specialist rehabilitation centres so far during 2020.

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Anyone with concerns about a wild animal’s welfare can contact the RSPCA advice line 0300 123 4999. For more information about how to help hedgehogs in your garden go to www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare.