Pictures: Balloon syndrome hedgehog saved by vets

The prickly animal had a giant air pocket trapped under its skin - which caused its body to inflate.

It was found puffed up and struggling to move or curl up by a member of the public who took it to Locke and Preston vets in Bude, Cornwall.

Baffled staff couldn’t understand how the spherical creature could be so large and yet remain a normal weight.

But X-rays revealed the giant air pocket which caused doctors to fear the creature could burst.

They used a standard syringe to puncture his ballooning belly and let the air gently escape.

The rudimentary operation was a complete success and the 500g hedgehog has now reverted back to its normal dimensions.

Veterinary surgeon Adam Revitt diagnosed the animal with balloon syndrome - a rare condition he had heard of but never encountered.

Mr Revitt, 26, said: “The hedgehog was so swollen and very inflated. It couldn’t curl up into a ball and couldn’t move.

“I took an X-ray and then a needle and syringe to drain the air. It took around five minutes to drain all the air out fully.

“The hedgehog looked instantly brighter. He was trying to move around and he was tucking into his food.”

Mr Revitt said balloon syndrome happens when bacteria gets into a wound and gives off gas that becomes trapped under the skin.

He added: “This is the first case I had ever seen. It is uncommon. There are very few things published about it.

“Hedgehogs can be difficult to examine as they tend to curl up into a ball, but this one couldn’t. This one just sat there and let me x-ray him.

“Without the treatment it couldn’t breathe and would probably have died.”

The animal was given pain relief and antibiotics and is in the safe hands of Sue Gear, a receptionist at the surgery who also runs her own animal shelter, Born To Be Wild.

She said: “The hedgehog is with me and is doing absolutely fine. He is putting on weight.

I want to release him back where he came from in the next week or so.”