The hedgehog may be prickly, but it is much-loved in Britain. 

This small, nocturnal creature, covered in thousands of spikes, is officially an endangered species, with numbers dropping drastically in recent years. 

"We know we've lost 50 percent of rural hedgehogs and 30 percent of urban hedgehogs since the millennium," says Grace Johnson – the hedgehog officer at the People's Trust for Endangered Species. 

"We're really showing quite drastic declines across the board. We need to do as much as we can to try to understand those declines and really try to reverse them."

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Hedgehogs are found in rural and urban areas and face different threats in each. 

Loss of their hedgerows and woodlands has contributed to their decline, as has the use of pesticides. Thousands are killed on roads each year and urban expansion has destroyed safe havens in cities.

Grace Johnson oversees the Hedgehog Street project, which is now in its 10th year. It aims to encourage the public to create hedgehog-friendly spaces in their private gardens. 

"We know that they can travel an average of two kilometers in a single night," she says. "And we know that gardens can be a really, really good resource for them. 

"So, we want them to be able to access as many gardens, parks and green spaces as possible."

Tips to protect visiting hedgehogs include creating gaps in garden fences, putting out food at night, setting up nesting boxes and arranging easy access to shallow, clean drinking water.

Hedgehogs hibernate throughout winter, but once they re-emerge in spring, they love to roam in dense undergrowth. 

Some central London parks have set up discreet dedicated areas for hedgehogs, including ramps in ponds and bespoke nesting boxes to encourage them to breed. 

Despite the declining population, the Hedgehog Street project believes there are some signs the hedgehog numbers could be starting to rise in some urban areas. 

The recent lockdowns have encouraged the public to keep a closer eye out for any visiting hedgehogs. 

"The good thing about hedgehogs is that because they are so generalist, if we can make the landscape a little bit more linked up, if we can make it a bit more hedgehog-friendly, then there's a good chance we can turn things around and make the UK a really good hedgehog haven," says Johnson.

Video editing: Sam Cordell