'Skippy' the hedgehog saved from being crushed to death at recycling centre
Skippy the hedgehog did not seem much the worse for his ordeal after being tossed in a skip inside his hedgehog house. Staff at WT Skip Hire in Great Yarmouth sort all the rubbish by hand and thankfully looked inside the box and discovered him trying to hibernate. - Credit: Carol Burman
A hedgehog is being cared for by animal rescue volunteers after being found in a skip.
The animal, named Skippy, was discovered still in hibernation in a hedgehog house by workers sorting through waste at WT Skip Hire in Harfrey's Road, Great Yarmouth.
Office manager Carol Burman said had it not been for their thoroughness the prickly creature would have been taken to the recycling centre and crushed.
Skippy the hedgehog is recovering at a hedgehog hospital in Halvergate after staff at WT Skip Hire in Great Yarmouth found him still inside his hedgehog house after being tossed in a skip. - Credit: Carol Burman
She said: "Really you shouldn't disturb anything like that at this time of year and the moral of this story is to check boxes and little houses before you throw them out.
"Thank the Lord they looked inside.
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"He is about the size of a cooking apple so not very big.
"He was not breathing particularly quickly and was moving around his box and having a little drink."
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Miss Burman transferred Skippy into a wicker basked full of straw while she waited for him to be collected.
"He has had a bit of a close shave and all credit to the boys for having a look," she added.
Skippy the hedgehog is lucky to be alive after being found by workers at WT Skip Hire in Great Yarmouth as they sorted through rubbish that had been thrown away. - Credit: Carol Burman
When skips are returned to the company's premises they are tipped out and sorted by hand into piles of wood, metal, and rubble which are taken to the recycling centre.
Had Skippy not been discovered he would have been crushed.
Miss Burman said sorting by hand meant nothing was missed.
Previously staff had found a live snake which one of the employees had taken home to care for.
"Someone once threw out a bag of jewellery during a house clearance by mistake and we sorted through and found that," Miss Burman added.
"Things do not get missed here. We have looked for keys for people and if we find things that look like they have been put in by mistake we always check," she said.
Skippy is now in the hands of a hedgehog hospital in Halvergate.
Volunteers will monitor his weight and check him for fleas and parasites.
He will be kept inside and on a heat pad until it is considered safe enough for him to return to the wild.
All the food, medicine and equipment is funded by the volunteers and anyone who wants to make a donation can do so via Miss Burman at WT Skip Hire who will be kept updated on his progress.
