Wigan lay minister's delightful tales of hedgehogs for children

Sara, who is a Reader at All Saints Church in Appley Bridge, was first inspired to put pen to paper last June when she and husband Mark saw a hedgehog in the garden of their Standish home in the middle of summer.

They got in touch with a hedgehog rescue organisation who checked it was OK before it was eventually released back into the wild.

Sara decided to write a story for young children to be read to them at bedtime which as well as being a lovely tale for them to enjoy would teach them about the animals, which have faced an increasingly-precarious position in recent years.

She is now hoping to enter one of the stories she has created into a competition and is supporting conservation and rescue efforts to help hedgehogs in the area.

She said: “The hedgehog was just out in the sun in the middle of summer in our garden, so I rang the hedgehog charity.

“They told us to do all the things which I then described in my first story, about how to keep hedgehogs safe.

“The volunteers from the charity then came back and they weighed and checked the hedgehog before we released it back into our garden.

“I mainly wrote them as bedtime stories for people we know.

“I’m going to see if the BBC story competition would be interested in one of them. It’s one which is aimed at adults reading stories to children.

“If I’m fortunate enough to get a prize then I will give the proceeds to the Chorley Hedgehog Rescue charity, which is our nearest one.”

Sara has now written several hedgehog tales and published them on the All Saints Church website.

In an extra charming touch the stories come with beautiful drawings of the cute creatures done by Sara’s daughter Melanie, who works at a fashion college in London.

The tales include one about a hedgehog who breaks lockdown restrictions to try to sort the problems out but gets into a lot of trouble, while the latest one fascinatingly delves back into ancient history to discover that the common idea of them as a gardener’s friend actually dates back thousands of years.

Children can also meet characters such as a rather smelly hedgehog and Minnie, who is too small to last the harsh weather of winter.

Sara has even used the tales as a gentle introduction to the sensitive and difficult topic of 21st century ideas of gender as the stories specifically do not say whether the central character hedgehog, called P, is a boy or a girl.

Sara said: “There are a lot of struggles over gender at the moment and this is a gentle way of showing children that sometimes we don’t know.

“The last story in the series is about hedgehogs’ ancestors. The Babylonians kept hedgehogs as pets in their gardens, because they got rid of pests.

“The ancestor hedgehog in the story is called Panir. He likes cheese but it gives him terrible wind.

“This is also about teaching children because dairy products aren’t good for hedgehogs, it makes them ill.

“There’s also a church message in this story because he’s the one who watches the Wise Men set off. He wants to know where the love comes from, and it comes from God.”

Sara says she does not have any plans to write more hedgehog stories at the moment , having completed her series at Christmastime with one that references the Nativity story.

However, she said she has not completely ruled out the idea of penning more tales for young children and their relatives who enjoy reading to them.

In the meantime Sara is also raising awareness of hedgehog conservation and encouraging people who enjoy the stories to consider making a small donation if they can.

As well as the Chorley rescue outfit she is supporting Appley Bridge Community Association in its efforts to create more ideal habitats for hedgehogs in the area.

The community group is working with the rescue centre to make a hedgehog village in an area called The Meadows.

The scheme would include homes and shelters for hedgehogs to hibernate in over winter, feeding stations and more hedgehog-friendly shrubs and trees being planted.

A fund-raiser has been set up for the hedgehog village and over £250 has been donated.

Although hedgehogs are often associated with the British countryside and have featured in classic works such as those by Beatrix Potter, the creatures are currently declining alarmingly in number and their future is under real threat.

Sara explained a couple of the other dangers they face and what residents can do.

She said: “There is lots we can do to help nature at this very difficult time.

“Hedgehogs can be found even in very urban areas, not just rural ones.

“One common problem is injuries from strimmers, so people need to be careful when they are gardening.”

The hedgehog stories are available online at https://allsaintschurch.co.uk/kids-and-families/

For more information about the fund-raiser, or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/f/help-make-a-safe-place-for-rescued-hedgehogs

If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here and viewing our offers.