Motorists driving through Paulton towards Midsomer Norton, along Salisbury Road, should have spotted a startling sign nestled within a beautiful flowerbed, for that is the point. “Five dead this year!” it declares... the number of hedgehogs killed outside ‘Dot the hedgehog lady’s’ house this year alone.

Dot Salvidge was so saddened by the loss of her hedgehog visitors killed outside on the road, that she decided to warn motorists to look out for them with a hard-hitting sign. In turn, the sign was spotted by 33-year-old lorry driver, Dean Ford, from Midsomer Norton, who later rescued a hedgehog from the road not far from Dot’s house, and contacted The Journal to try and make readers more aware of the prickly visitors to our gardens that so often fall victim to the roads.

Estimates suggest that the UK hedgehog population has dropped from 30 million in the 1950s to just one million now. These nocturnal visitors are the ‘gardeners’ friend’, eating slugs and snails and keeping pests under control. But they are highly territorial, and can actually roam one to two miles a night, which often leads them into the oncoming path of cars.

Hedgehogs have litters between one and eleven hoglets, and the young cannot survive alone, further diminishing numbers if an adult is killed. Hoglets stay with their mothers for eight weeks, and dog owners are also asked to look out for them, as they can fall foul of our canine friends and other nocturnal animals, such as badgers. If you have a hedgehog visiting your garden, you should provide water that is not too deep for hoglets, and tinned dog or cat food that is meaty, not fish-based, and crushed meaty cat or dog biscuits. You should never leave milk for hedgehogs and if you can, create a gap in fences to help them get around.

Dot is convinced that more hedgehogs could be saved on our roads, if only we would slow our cars down. Since she put up the sign, another has been lost, taking the total to six, a sad statistic when five were also killed outside her home in 2018. Since the sign went up, she has had motorists knocking on her door with hedgehogs that have been found and, on Dot’s advice, taken to the local vet.

“It is depressing to update the sign,” she says. “People are very fond of hedgehogs; you only have to look at the role they play in some of our stories, like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle.

“I don’t have any hedgehogs in the garden at the moment. One that used to visit was so confident, that he would come up to me and sniff my toes!”

Dean says: “As a lorry driver, I see a lot of wildlife killed on the roads, and every time I see it, my heart sinks. We need to take care on the roads and watch out for hedgehogs especially, as they are in decline.”

Dot adds: “I know that my sign has saved at least two hedgehogs and for that, it was worth putting up. It has also been a talking point! Hopefully, it will make people look out for them and slow down on the roads.”

There are two hedgehog rescue centres in the area – Hedgehog Rescue in Yate, and Prickles Hedgehog Rescue in Wedmore Road, Cheddar. For more information on our prickly friends, visit: www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk