Anne has been busy over the last few months sewing face masks and snoods, all in a very good cause…
Anne (left), Carole (right) and volunteers from Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue
‘I joined Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue as a volunteer last year. From day one I was in awe of the care and dedication given to these poor hedgehogs. With Covid making it impossible to fund raise, I came up with the idea of making masks and donating the proceeds to Carole, who runs the rescue. My masks have been very popular selling to people up and down the country. I have sponsored both Carole and two other small hedgehog rescues in Northumberland. When chatting to Carole she mentioned how useful a portable incubator would be when collecting young and injured hedgehogs. It became my mission to buy a Brinsea TLC-30 portable incubator.
Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue rescue was set up by Carole Catchpole and her husband in 1980. Sadly, in 1998 Carole was widowed but she continued with her excellent work caring for hedgehogs. Through a lot of hard work and dedication and self-funding, together with help from her volunteers and fund-raisers, in 2012 her wooden cages were replaced with veterinary quality cages which were easier to clean and would help to prevent any cross contamination.
The Rescue Centre has continued to grow so that now as well as the indoor accommodation, there are also three specialist gardens including an outside area specifically designed to enable amputees or disabled hedgehogs who cannot be safely released back into the wild, to live in natural conditions but be cared for 365 days a year.
From these small beginnings the rescue became a Trust in 2011 and finally a registered charity (No.1152034) in 2013. The team now cares for approximately 400 hedgehogs annually and frequently overwinter 100 plus. Our policy has been and will remain to always help a hedgehog in need and never refuse sanctuary. In 2016 Carole was awarded the British Empire Medal for her work with hedgehogs.
I raised enough money to buy a TLC-30 for the rescue and it’s been invaluable. I’m now busy sewing to raise money for another one!’
Anne Sanderson
