Firefighter rescues hedgehog family in his truck after finding one member suffocated in a plastic bag

'It looked like it may have chewed a hole in a plastic bag and got it’s head stuck,' says Mitch Stafford

(Handout)

A firefighter who rescued a family of hedgehogs found wrapped in a plastic bag, has called for more awareness of the impact litter can have on wildlife.

Mitch Stafford found one of the creatures had suffocated after he found it in a hedgerow near his garden at his home in Utoxeter in Staffordshire.

It was living in a nest made of dirty takeaway boxes and discarded plastic wrappers with three of its relatives, all of whom survived.

The 34-year-old has taken to social media with the tragic image to try to encourage others to show the care that he displayed.

“I looked more closely at the nest and it was made of crisp packets and takeaway boxes," the father of two said. “One of them was dead. It looked like it may have chewed a hole in a plastic bag and got it’s head stuck."

“It’s tragic really and I posted the picture on Facebook because I wanted to highlight the dangers or littering."

The discovery triggered the natural rescue spirit in Mr Stafford, who said he was appalled at the condition of the suffocated hedgehog's family.

His young boys were upset at the finding, so he took all three animals, starving and underweight, by fire engine to West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue, a local hospital that salvages injured hedgehogs from the wild.

The service is run solely by hedgehog-enthusiast 75 year-old Joan Lockley, who last year housed more than 650 of the animals in a tailor made extension she calls the 'hosprickle'.

The pensioner, who funds lifesaving operations for ill hedgehogs at local vets using donations and her own pocket, has noticed the litter issue worsen in recent years.

"People don’t think enough about what we’re doing to nature," she told The Independent.

"Netting is a real issue and one the body had grown over the netting and the vet had to cut into its insides. It's disabled now, I've still got it. It's same with any type of drink cans. Hedgehogs will get their heads trapped in them and not be able to escape because of the way they grow, so they'll starve.

Mitch Stafford took the suffocated Hedgehog's family to a local rescue centre run by pensioner Joan Lockley (West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue)

"These hedgehogs are so cute and harmless – they’re called the gardeners friend, but they're facing extinction and we're too careless."

It comes amid a nationwide drive to reduce plastic bag usage, with the levy on supermarket carrier bags at its forefront and set to double in a renewed push to cut usage.

But the challenge remains steep, as only last week the government warned that 3.6 billion plastic bags were sold by independent business in 2017 alone.

Businesses with less than 250 employees are currently exempt from the 5p levy affecting supermarkets and major retailers.

Firefighter Mitchell was glad that the tragic story had a happier ending.

He said: “It seems to be getting worse and I’ve noticed rubbish mounting up by the sides of roads where I live. I think it’s a national problem. But fortunately the three other hedgehogs survived and are going to released back into the wild.”

RSPCA Head of Wildlife Adam Grogan said the creature would probably "have suffered a slow, painful death."

He added: “This is a tragic incident, but sadly, we see litter-related wildlife deaths or serious injuries all too often. Many people are unaware of the problems that litter can cause for our wildlife. Even something as simple as a plastic bag can cause terrible suffering to a small animal if they become trapped by it."

Agencies contributed to this report