Firefighters rescue hedgehog from drain using vacuum

By Adam Dutton

Rescuers used a hoover and a curtain tube to save a baby hedgehog that fell down a storm drain.

A homeowner raised the alarm after hearing cries of distress coming from a drain in her garden.

Warwickshire Hedgehog Rescue charity raced to the property in Leamington Spa last Tuesday, July 1.

Volunteers discovered a baby hedgehog had tumbled 4ft into the drain and was trapped in a narrow underground pipe.

Firefighters were called and joined in the rescue and used a vacuum cleaner to try and suck the critter out of the drain.

When that failed, volunteers pushed an old plastic tube – which had contained a curtain blind – into the drain.

After several minutes, the stranded hedgehog crawled into the tube and rescuers were able to pull it up from the drain.

Another baby hedgehog was also rescued from nearby and both were taken in by the animal charity.

Sally Ellis, spokesperson for the charity, said: “It was a remarkable rescue operation.

“The storm drain had been covered with chicken wire but the gaps were bigger than the hedgehog which had fallen down inside.

“A woman who lived in the house heard the cries and called us. When we arrived it was obvious that the animal was quite deep into the drain.

“We alerted the fire service who tried to suck the hedgehog up with a hoover but that didn’t work.

“Eventually the woman’s son pushed a plastic curtain blind tube into the drain and the hedgehog was curious enough to get inside.

“Hedgehogs love enclosed spaces; they feel safe there. Thankfully, the hedgehog was unharmed along with its sibling, found nearby.

“Both hedgehogs are doing well and we look forward to releasing them back into the wild.”