A HOGLET boom amid a hedgehog 'summer of love' is predicted across Cumbria due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Less traffic on the roads across the county may have stopped the clock on the decline of British hedgehog populations.

Numbers of the spiky mammals in the UK have plummeted by half over the past 20 years.

However, hedgehog enthusiasts hope there will be a huge wave of newborns in the coming weeks, with most baby hedgehogs arriving in June or July.

Hedgehog ecologist and author Hugh Warwick said: “Hedgehog population levels have been a concern for decades so the recent increase in sightings is brilliant news for all wildlife lovers across the country – even if it took a national lockdown to make it happen.

“What we’re seeing is, in essence, a hedgehog ‘summer of love.'”