Prickly present found in charity shop donation

Charity shops are full of fantastic and unexpected gems, but not usually prickly, breathing things.

A charity shop manager in Norwich was very surprised to discover a baby hedgehog - a hoglet - had been donated on Wednesday.

It was curled up in a bag containing some children's coats.

Kerrie Sillet, manager of Dawn's New Horizon shop in Norwich, said she thought it might be "a fluffy bag or a winter hat until it started breathing".

She had been rifling through a bag that had been placed in the shop's outside drop-off point.

"We get a range of donations - anything from false teeth to just anything and everything. I'm not sure we've had any live animals [before]."

The shop is warning people leaving donations to make sure they check any bags, especially if they have been left outside at home overnight.

"We do have some funny donations, but it was the talk of the shop for about an hour with the customers as well," said Sillet.

"They all found it quite amusing and [were] hoping no-one had put it in there."

A customer used a cat carrier to take the hedgehog to an animal sanctuary.

According to the RSPCA, hedgehogs re-emerge into the wild during the spring following hibernation from October to April.

It says that if a baby hedgehog is found during the daytime in the spring and summer months you should offer it food and keep an eye on it from a distance, and leave it alone at night.

If it looks ill or injured though, you should take it to a vet or call a wildlife charity.