ADVICE for keeping hedgehogs safe in the garden has been issued, with July the RSPCA’s “busiest month” for calls about them.

The North West region took 257 calls about hedgehogs this time last year.

Evie Button, RSPCA wildlife scientific officer, said: “Please remember to remove sports and fruit netting, cover drains and holes, check before using a strimmer or mower, look in compost heaps before forking over and avoid using slug pellets as these are poisonous to hedgehogs.”

More information can be found on the RSPCA’s website.