Picture: Scotland’s fattest hedgehog put on diet

THE heaviest hedgehog in Scotland has been put on a diet after becoming too fat to roll up into a ball.

Edinburgh the hedgehog, alongside Sandy Boyd of Wormit Hedgehog Care Centre. Picture: Deadline

The huge hedgehog, called Edinburgh after the place where she was rescued, weighed in at five pounds last month – leading to concerns for her health.

Sandy Boyd, who runs Wormit Hedgehog Care Centre in Fife, decided it was time to restrict her food intake before releasing her into the wild.

Edinburgh, who was eating huge portions of dried mealworms and cat food three times a day, has already lost two-thirds of a pound since being put on smaller portions.

But at just over four-and-a-half pounds she is still four times the average weight for a hedgehog.

Staff at the hedgehog care centre are pleased with Edinburgh’s progress, but say she is unlikely to lose enough weight to be released this year.

Edinburgh, who weighed less than a pound when she was rescued, will winter at the centre and may be released in the spring.