Network of 'hedgehog highways' created throughout London to look after endangered mammals

They might be adorable, but they’re also in trouble. Britain’s iconic, prickly hedgehogs have seen a drop in numbers, with a 2015 report from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society showing the population had halved in rural areas since the year 2000, and reduced by a third in urban areas.

The nocturnal, solitary creatures tend to travel over 1.5 kilometres each night looking for food, and struggle to deal with standard city features such as garden walls.

But hedgehog supporters are fighting back. One such enthusiast, Michel Birkenwald, is taking on the plight of the urban hedgehog by helping create a network of “hedgehog highways” to allow the critters to move around unencumbered.

A hole or tunnel around 13 centimetres in diameter is enough to allow a hedgehog through. It can take around an hour to drill a hole that size through a Victorian brick wall.

Once it’s completed, a tiny sign alerting residents and passers-by to the hedgehog highway is fixed near the hole to prevent it being filled in.

Hedgehog Street, a campaign set up by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, maintains a map detailing the location of the tunnels and sightings of hedgehogs.

“I am just an average guy who decided to help one of our most adorable mammals”, said Mr Birkenwald, who founded the group Barnes Hedgehogs.