Balloon syndrome hedgehog found in Gloucestershire field

Manager Emily Harper said she has "deflated" the hedgehog as much as she can

A hedgehog has had to be deflated by rescuers after swelling up to the size of a football.

The female hedgehog, which had inflated to twice its normal size, was discovered in a field near Quedgeley, Gloucestershire.

She was so large she was spotted by a passenger on a passing bus.

At Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue, the hedgehog was diagnosed with balloon syndrome caused by gas collecting under the skin.

Manager Emily Harper said: "I have deflated her as much as I can.

"She was so big, a man on a bus managed to spot her in a field.

"But he couldn't say where and we were unable to locate her. She was finally found by a dog walker."

Ms Harper said the the rescue centre deals with more than 500 hedgehogs a year but only sees one with balloon syndrome

Balloon syndrome only occurs in hedgehogs and is due to their ability to curl up, meaning they have a gap under their skin.

Ms Harper said air can get trapped under the skin - sometimes from an infected wound - and the animal can "balloon up".

"She'd grown so big you couldn't see her legs and her skin was very tight at the limit of what it could stretch to," she said.

"She was very large but generally in good health."

At the rescue centre, a needle was inserted under the hedgehog's skin to release some of the trapped air.

"I deflated her as much as I could and took most of the air out. She hasn't re-inflated straight away - which is a good sign," said Ms Harper.

"There's still more air to come out - she's still a bit big - but we will do this at the vets when she goes in for x-ray."