WHAT a glorious late summer we are having. But just before you slap on the sun cream and head for the beach or garden, spare a thought for the hedgehogs and other wildlife that find this heat difficult to bear. The ground becomes hard as it dries out, making natural food very difficult to find, and there is a distinct lack of water around too.

A dish of non-fish flavoured pet food or unsweetened muesli put out each evening will help your local hedgehogs survive, and bowls of fresh water in several spots around the garden could be a life-saver to all sorts of garden visitors.

It is also important to keep pond or pool levels topped up. Hedgehogs may use this as a water source, and while they are good swimmers, they cannot negotiate steep slippery sides and can drown exhausted.

Ensure swimming pool covers are on every night and that polystyrene floats are placed near the side for a hedgehog to cling to. Half submerging bricks or rocks around the edges of ponds and pools may make life-saving slipways. Alternatively a piece of chicken wire can be hung over the edge like a scrambling net which hedgehogs can climb up to freedom.

FAY VASS,

British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Hedgehog House, Dhustone, Ludlow

SY8 3PL