A hedgehog hospital owner has said No Mow May contributed to a "heartbreaking" rise in injuries.

During No Mow May gardeners and councils were urged to let grass grow to promote wildlife.

But Sue Stubley, founder of Suffolk Hedgehog Hospital, said animals nestled in longer grass, only to get badly injured when it was finally strimmed.

Plantlife, the charity which promoted No Mow May, urged people to check for wildlife before cutting.

Ms Stubley's Newmarket-based hospital cared for 80 injured hedgehogs in May, with 44 suffering from injuries caused by strimmers.

More than twenty had to be put to be euthanised.

Ms Stubley, 61, said the total was "way, way in excess of anything we've had before".

"It's double what we saw the previous year. Quite a lot of it has been due to No Mow May," she said.

"The hedgehogs are having a nice time in the long grass - then they get chopped to bits."

Medical bills

Ms Stubley called for a "re-think" of the No Mow May approach.

"Either cut it [the grass] short and keep it short or leave it long. Don't leave it for a few weeks and come along and strim it.

She said strimmers had left hedgehogs with appalling injuries.

"It's heartbreaking. You should see the ones we're trying to save. They've been stitched and patched up."

The hospital's monthly medical bill was £1,000 higher than ever before.

Plantlife said it issued guidance about protecting wildlife to gardeners who were about to resume mowing or strimming.

The advice included carrying out a search by hand and cutting gradually, so disturbed wildlife could escape.

A spokesperson said: "For those who choose to mow their lawns after letting them grow wilder in May, we endorse them taking care and attention to check areas of longer grass before that first cut."

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society said it backed No Mow May as longer grass provided nesting spaces and food.