HEDGEHOG numbers seem to benefit from urban areas, a study has suggested.

A new report published yesterday had sought to discover the cause of decline in hedgehog numbers.

Researchers conducted a systematic survey of different areas using footprint tracking tunnels and a mass of volunteers.

The survey covered 261 sites of all rural habitat types across the UK and Wales, including sites in the North-East and Yorkshire.

The population of hedgehogs at these sites were measured alongside badger populations, as they are thought to have a negative effect on hedgehogs' survival.

The results found hedgehogs were only present at 21% of the survey sites.

Of the 55 sites where hedgehogs appeared, just under 10% were located around the Teesside and North Yorkshire area.

In the region, hedgehogs showed up closer to urban areas that border the countryside, such as Northallerton and York, and were nowhere to be seen in extremely rural locations such as around the North York Moors.

UK-wide, the results showed 49% of the hedgehog sites also had badgers present meaning it is possible for the two species to live close together despite their complicated relationship.

Badgers are classed as an ‘intra-guild predator’ which means they predate on hedgehogs as well as compete with them for the same food.

At over a quarter of the rural study sites, the landscape was unsuitable for both animals suggesting a wider landscape management issue, rather than a single factor, is affecting species and causing hedgehog decline.

In contrast, urban areas seem to have a positive impact as hedgehogs use gardens and human-occupied locations as a ‘refuge habitat’ to escape the challenges they face in rural landscapes.

Ben Williams, PhD student from the University of Reading, the primary author of the report, said: “Our results indicate that a large proportion of rural England and Wales is potentially unsuitable for both hedgehogs and badgers to live in. Given the similarity in diets of the two species, one explanation for this could be the reduced availability of macro-invertebrate prey (such as earthworms) which both species need to feed on to survive. This could be as a result of agricultural intensification and climate change."

The research was led by Nottingham Trent University and the University of Reading, and funded by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.