Hedgehog dies after being set on fire in Westhoughton

A hedgehog which was set on fire using a 'lighter' has died.

In what has been described as a 'horrific and callous' act, the hedgehog was found with serious burn injuries and taken to a vets.

The hedgehog was discovered in Westhoughton by a councillor who was out on the campaign trail at around 4.30pm on Tuesday.

It was taken to Pike Moor Vets, Horwich where it was treated, but its injuries proved fatal despite emergency treatment.

Fran Kingston, a veterinary surgeon at the practice, said she had not come across an act of deliberate harm to wildlife before.

She said: "It came to us with significant head injuries, it is difficult to say what had been done.

"It had quite severe wounds to its head.

"We carried out a clinical examination then opted for euthanasia on welfare grounds.

"The wounds had penetrated its skull.

"Unfortunately we do see things like this.

"Quite often they are accidental that is why we ask people to check garden waste, that is where they are often hiding.

"I have not seen anything intentional being done before."

A RSPCA spokesperson said: “It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to deliberately attack a wild animal in this horrific and callous way.

"This poor hedgehog would have been in terrible pain and distress and it would have been an upsetting sight for the members of the public who stepped in to help."

They went on to described how the animals were in decline in this country and appealed for anyone with information to contact themselves or the police.

They added: "Hedgehogs are a species in decline in the UK and we should be doing everything we can to help them, not treating them in this despicable way.

"We would appeal for anyone with first-hand information about this incident to contact the police on 101 or the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.”

The People's Trust for Endangered Species estimates there are around 879,000 hedgehogs in the UK.

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The animal was discovered by Westhoughton councillor David Wilkinson on Chequerbent Green.

He had been campaigning with another member of his political party when he came across a woman who had found the animal.

He said: "It looked like someone had used a lighter on it.

"It was a horrific injury.

"I was first elected to the council in 1984 and I have seen worse than this campaigning sadly.

"I have seen swans killed.

"It was awful though, if I could get my hands on who did this they would probably be signing soprano."

He added: "It looked like it had been burned, we put it in a cardboard box and took it to the vet, they said they were going to look at it but they were not optimistic.

"It is sad that it has died, hedgehogs are rare, some people might say it is just a hedgehog, but it is a little animal that has had quite a horrific end to its life, if somebody has done that is not nice to say the least."