A HOGLET baby boom is predicted across Cumbria following the Covid-19 lockdown.

Lockdown and less traffic on the roads across the Cumbria may have stopped the clock on the decline of British hedgehog populations.

Hedgehog numbers in the UK have plummeted by half over the past 20 years, however the spiky mammals are enjoying something of a resurgence and now experts are predicting a ‘hoglet boom’ next month.

Most baby hedgehogs arrive in June or July and hedgehog enthusiast’s hope there will be a huge wave of newborn hoglets in the coming weeks, as a result of the rise in reported mating cases.

Hedgehog ecologist and author Hugh Warwick said: “Hedgehog population levels have been a concern for decades so the recent increase in sightings is brilliant news for all wildlife lovers across the country – even if it took a national lockdown to make it happen."

“What we’re seeing is, in essence, is a hedgehog ‘summer of love’'."