Date: 27/11/2007

A miniature stone doorway which acts as a thoroughfare for a family of hedgehogs has been built into a wall by railway engineers. Nearby residents were concerned that Hamish the hedgehog and his family would be trapped in their home in a patch of land alongside the track if plans to mend a tumbledown wall went ahead as planned. Yesterday, hedgehog conservationists and wildlife activists said they were delighted to see a company come up with an imaginitive solution to protect creatures endengered by developments. The hedgehog gate in Perth is the latest in a list of animal friendly feats of engineering, which include tunnels for toads in Oxfordshire and rope bridges for red squirrels in Aberdeenshire.