Feature: ‘It’s so awful that hedgehogs have had such a rate of decline’

For just over 40 years, Elaine has dedicated her life to caring for poorly hedgehogs at ‘Lincolnshire’s famous little hedgehog hospital’ – called Hedgehog Care in Authorpe.

Elaine, who also happens to be the mum of Swing Out Sister frontwoman Corinne Drewery, is now 81 years old – but she has no plans on stopping caring for her beloved hedgehogs until she physically cannot.

“In the 1950s they said there were about 30 million hedgehogs (in the UK) but there was no scientific evidence,” she said.

“In the last few years they say they have been falling in numbers.

“It is just so hard to know exactly how many there are.

“It is so awful to think that a wildlife creature would have that rate of decline and it would be a luxury to see them.

“I was born in 1939 and when I was young they were as common as bunnies.

“A lot of people don’t realise what us humans have done to hedgehogs. What used to be wildlife habitat has 
now undergone development as housing or industrial estates or road bypasses across acres and acres.

“Then you have chemicals and sprays, strimmers and garden implements. We’ve had hedgehogs in that have had to have legs amputated due to injuries.

“It is really just human civilisation that has threatened all wildlife. But all wildlife is important. They are as important as humans.”

Great-grandmother Elaine, who also has three sons and ‘hundreds’ of grandchildren, added: “The Hedgehog Preservation Society has said they think hedgehogs will become extinct; but for what they have undergone you will never wipe them out completely. People are so aware of the predicament they are in.”

Elaine forms a bond with her prickly patients and can recognise some of her ex-patients by their behaviour.

“Sometimes they come back in and I can identify them by how they behave,” she said.

“I am not a vet, but everything I do is by handling them. I know how to uncurl them. I have got to have it on my knee and rock it.

“They do have different temperaments. You have fairly affectionate ones who appreciate the comfort you give them if they are hurting, and you have shy ones too.”

Each hedgehog that comes into the hospital is given a name. At the moment Elaine has 90 patients who include: Humphrey, Rosey, Lilly, Christopher, Lavender and Bottle Top, who got his name after coming in when he got stuck in the top of an oil container.

Elaine has nursed thousands of patients during her time who are returned to the wild once they have recovered or to a private garden if they need extra care.

Apart from her pension, Elaine relies solely on donations to run her hedgehog hospital. She can have from 50 to 200-plus hedgehogs in her care at any one time, and she spends around £300 a month on vet’s bills.

During lockdown she was busier than ever, and in extreme cases she has even paid for taxis to bring injured hedgehogs to the hospital.

“Even when you spend loads getting them to you, you cannot always save them,” she said. “You cannot save them all.”

Talking about how to recognise if a hedgehog is unwell, she said: “A lot of people are aware that they are nocturnal, so if a hedgehog is out in the daytime or not moving, something is not quite right.

“It is an around the clock job. People ask ‘do they bite?’ and I say well, hardly ever, but if their leg hurts they might.”

Elaine’s journey to rescuing poorly and injured hedgehogs first began when she accidentally disturbed a hedgehog with its babies in a stable.

She tried to put things back as best she could, but found out later that the mother had moved her babies all out of the stable – except for one.

“He was cold and hungry so I took him in and looked after him,” she explained. “I called him Wilfred Pickles.”

Elaine, who was formerly the village postmistress, then began helping other poorly and injured hedgehogs, quickly earning the nickname ‘the hedgehog woman’ or ‘Grandma Hedgehog.’

Oliver Brown was another of her early patients. He came in with severe head injuries and amazed everyone with his recovery, although he had suffered brain damage. 
There is a ward named after him at the hospital.

“I got all my knowledge from Les Stocker who set up Tiggywinkles (the world famous wildlife hospital),” Elaine explained.

“I learnt such a lot. He had the same sense of humour as me and when I would ring him up he would say: ‘What do you want now?!’

“People ask: ‘Why do you not pack it up?’ but my phone does not stop ringing.

“There might be a hedgehog caught in a fence... I am the silly old so-and-so who thinks of a solution.

“I love all my patients. I feel like I have given birth to them!”

• Donations are always welcome and Elaine never charges to help a hedgehog.

• The hospital can be contacted on 01507 450221 for questions about hedgehogs and also for emergencies (7am and 10pm).

• Food for the hedgehogs is regularly needed, including Weetabix, as well as toilet and kitchen tissues for bedding.

• Visit www.hedgehogcare.org.uk for more information.