Jail means freedom -for hedgehogs

Moorland Prison has just become the site for home release for three hedgehogs which are ready for the outside world after being reared by Kate Deaking of Warmsworth Hedgehog Hospital .

For more than 10 years Kate has cared for hundreds of sick hedgehogs that otherwise would not have survived.

She has been offering a home to animals which have been found out and about during the day, when they should be sleeping. Sometimes she looks after them for several months.

Once the hedgehogs are fit and healthy, Kate releases them back into the wild .

But three of the rescued animals - named Jan, Joan and Sue after prison staff - have been released into the prison’s wildlife area because it is a closed environment which is free from predators that attack them in the wild.

The move follows a call to Kate from Chris George, the deputy estates manager at the prison, asking if it would be possible for her to bring some of her rescued hedgehogs.

After inspecting the suitability of the prison, Kate agreed it was appropriate and she and her fellow hedgehog carer Edna Wren set the trio free.

Chris, estates manager Martin Skinner and staff members James Myers and Janet Kelshaw were there to welcome them and help with the release.

Kate said: “I am pleased that HMP Moorland has provided me with somewhere safe to release them. I usually name the hedgehogs after people who have brought them in to me but in this case I agreed that they could be called after members of staff Jan, Joan and Sue.”

Chris said: “A wealth of wildlife thrives around individual establishments from city centre prisons such as Wormwood Scrubs to very rural settings such as Moorlands Closed, that is on the edge of natural England’s Hatfield Moors, a Special Site of Scientific Interest.

“With this in mind, in 2005 Moorlands was designated as one of 10 most significant sites of biodiversity interest within the prison service.

“I am delighted that we have joined forces with Kate and her colleagues in this venture and look forward to offering a safe environment for many more hedgehogs .”

The prison has a biodiversity action plan to monitor and protect species in its grounds, includinge adders, barn owls, emperor dragonflies and bats.

Inmates will make boxes from recycled timber, in which the hedgehogs can be kept, and as a safe place to hibernate.