A kind-hearted mum dedicated to nursing sick hedgehogs has become overwhelmed with more than a hundred in her garden.

When Lisa Steward, from Pluckley, near Ashford, discovered an injured hedgehog in her backyard four years ago it set off an unprecedented chain of events.

Now, the mother-of-three works around the clock to care for scores of the animals abandoned by their families or hurt in gardening accidents.

So dedicated is the 46-year-old’s operation, she is rapidly running out of room.

“One day I found a hedgehog in my garden and here I am now,” she says.

“I couldn’t find a rescue close by but when I did I offered to help with five or six of theirs and it soon became apparent the desperate need for rescue centres in Kent.

“I’ve always had a background in rescue. Since I was about 11 I volunteered and I went back to university as an adult and did a degree in wildlife conservation.”

Miss Steward’s grounds host numerous hutches alongside a shed she built with her son last year - the hedgehog hospital.

New arrivals are cared for inside the space until well enough to be housed outside.

Once strong enough, they will be released back into the wild.

But her Thorne Hedgehog Rescue centre, only one of three dedicated sanctuaries in Kent, has almost reached the maximum 150 capacity.

With the premises caring for 120 hedgehogs, Miss Steward is trying to find a larger location.

“Every hedgehog that comes here is very poorly and not all will make it.

“The struggle for me is having to say no because I don’t have enough space, money or the resources to be able to take them in.

“I know what’s going to happen to them if I say no, so that’s the biggest struggle – always worrying that I’m going to have to say no to the next one.”

Thorne Hedgehog Rescue is a registered community interest company and non-profit open 24 hours a day.

A team of 10 unpaid volunteers keep it running but there is only so much they can all do.

“Five hedgehog rescues have closed in the last year or two alone so we cover a lot of Kent,” Miss Steward continued.

“We have a few satellites that we have set up across Kent under Thorne Rescue but we are few and far between now.

“There are more multi-species rescues but of course, space is even more limited for them because they take in so many other animals.

“We all do it for the love of hedgehogs.

“But, we are always going to be limited by the number of volunteers we have to ensure we can do the care standards and of course, money always comes into it.

“We pay our own vet costs, our own medication and food. We have fantastic supporters who donate to us regularly but as we grow, costs increase and those costs themselves are increasing.

“My current vet is leaving so we are using any vet available but overnight, in some cases, costs have tripled which then impacts whether we can take any more hedgehogs.”

Miss Steward says hedgehogs run into difficulties all year round for a multitude of reasons.

She explained how, in the summer, garden tools and machinery like lawnmovers cause them injuries, while cars can hit them when crossing roads in winter.

All year round, mothers can abandon their babies while certain foods, especially unnatural, can cause sickness.

As demand increases Miss Steward says she has a dream to find a patch of land and set up a bigger and better hedgehog rescue that would be open to anyone to visit.

“I have a dream that I will ultimately be able to fundraise for some land and have a great big hedgehog hospital, the secure fields I need for disabled ones within that with community gardens and have it as a people and hedgehog space,” she said.

“We need to find the land that someone would be able to sell at a price we can afford and fundraise for it.

“I want to keep building to meet the demand that we come across and be able to have the resources, space, volunteers and all the associated things to do that.”

She hopes people of all ages would benefit from being able to visit and help at the space.

“Elderly people could come and visit the gardens and help by ripping up newspapers for the hedgehogs’ bedding,” she said.

“A handyman could help us with fixing some of our cages and just moving things and doing tip runs.

“It would be a space for anyone and they would all be able to help in some way.”

To contact the rescue centre to volunteer click here. To donate, click here.

Thorne Hedgehog Rescue has an open day on August 10 from 10am until 4pm.