Spiky surprise among coats donated to charity shop

A charity shop manager said she was "surprised" to see something spiky breathing in a bag of donations, which turned out to be a hedgehog that had nestled among some children's coats.

Kerrie Sillet, manager of Dawn's New Horizon shop in Norwich, said she had been rifling through a bag that had been placed in the shop's outside drop-off point at 11:00 BST on Wednesday when she made the discovery.

"I thought it might be a fluffy bag or a winter hat until it started breathing," she said.

"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 using the incident as a warning to 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."

Sillet said a customer took the animal away in a cat carrier as they had a friend who worked at an animal sanctuary.

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

It advises that if a baby hedgehog is found during the daytime in the spring and summer months you should offer it food and watch it from a distance, and leave it alone at night. If it looks ill or injured, people should take it to a vet or call a wildlife rehabilitator.

Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.

Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.