A nature lover had a shock when she went to refill the food she leaves out for the hedgehogs – one had fallen fast asleep in the feeding bowl.  

Melanie Gerad has a hedgehog house and two feeding stations which she tops up every day and changes the drinking water. 

As it’s rare to see a hedgehog during the day, she was really surprised to come across the male in the feeding station.  

Melanie initially thought the worst had happened.  

When she touched him, he moved slightly. So she got him checked over at her local hedgehog hotel. 

He was given a clean bill of health and it’s now thought he ate so much that he fell sound asleep into a food coma.  

Melanie, from Downham Market, said: “When I first came across him, he made me jump because I was not expecting to see anything there.  

“I thought he was dead at first. But then I touched him and his prickles moved ever so slightly.  

“So I took him to our nearest hedgehog rescue to get checked over.  

“It turns out that he is completely fine and must’ve eaten so much food that he went into a food coma. So much so that he even went to the toilet in his sleep! 

“Apparently males and females are also very ‘busy’ at this time of year – so he was probably tired from doing all that as well.” 

Melanie took the hedgehog to Ryston Rachel's Hedgehog Hotel but hasn’t seen him since he was released earlier in the week. 

When the weather is hot, households can look after hedgehogs by leaving out water to drink and food. 

Further information is available on the RSPCA website.