A PLEA has been made for people not to leave their unwanted pumpkins in woodland for wildlife to eat after Halloween.

The team at Worcester Woods Country Park has issued a warning not to dump unwanted pumpkins in its woodland.

People leave the unwanted Halloween decorations with good intentions thinking that it will provide food for wildlife.

However, they warn pumpkins could be fatal to wildlife such as hedgehogs.

A spokesperson for Worcester Woods Country Park said:  "We kindly ask that pumpkins are not discarded here once Halloween is over.

"Pumpkin can be fatal to wildlife like hedgehogs."

The country park, based in Wildwood Drive, Worcester, shared information from Waseley Hills Country Park.

People had dumped pumpkins in the woods last year and they had to be removed by the team at the country park in Rubery.

A spokesperson for Waseley Hills Country Park said: "This is a small part of the scene that greeted us in the woods at south car park after Halloween last year.

"Pumpkin can be fatal to wildlife like hedgehogs, and it took us some time to pull this lot out of the brambles for safe disposal."

They added that people who are not sure what to do with their Halloween pumpkins can either compost them at home, hang them in garden trees for birds or place them in general waste bin.

However, they advise against dumping unwanted pumpkins in local woodland or leaving them on the ground for wildlife.

Forestry England also advises against leaving pumpkins in woodland.

Kate Wollen, assistant ecologist at Forestry England said: “We see many posts on social media encouraging people to leave pumpkins in the woods for wildlife to eat, but please do not do this.

"Pumpkins are not natural to the woodland and while some wildlife may enjoy a tasty snack it can make others, such as hedgehogs, very poorly.

“Feeding pumpkins, or any other food in the forest, to birds, foxes, badgers, deer, and boar can make them unwell and can spread disease.  

“Pumpkins are also often decorated and have things such as candles in them.

"Animals eating the pumpkins could then eat a foreign object and this could kill them.”