Prisoners have been deployed to help protect hedgehogs by constructing paths for the animals to roam within grounds, a Ministry of Justice report has revealed.

Inmates at HMP Dovegate, a Serco-run jail holding just over 1,000 men in Staffs, which is surrounded by countryside, have called the scheme HMP Hog Gate.

Hedgehog numbers are declining nationwide, down from around 30 million in the 1950s to around 1 million now, with ecologists blaming fewer nesting sites and less protection.

Other reasons include solid fences and walls, which limit the range of hedgehogs, as well as busy roads and the use of pesticides, which can kill off hedgehogs as well as reduce the number of their favourite foods, beetles, earthworms and slugs.

Officials at the jail decided to help by getting prisoners to help create 'safe havens' for hedgehogs, ensuring they could get in and out of the prison through 'hedgehog gates'.

Hedgehogs rely on holes in gates, fences and walls so they can get around as they travel more than a mile a night looking for food and mates.