Charity thanks HMP La Moye inmates for work to save hedgehogs

An animal charity has thanked prison inmates for helping to save hedgehogs' lives.

Prisoners in HMP La Moye, in St Brelade, have given Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group 20 feeding and nesting boxes which they have made out of reclaimed pallet timber.

Peter Gould, the prison's vocational manager, said the work could help reduce reoffending because it taught inmates skills to support future employment and helped them feel they were contributing to the community.

Dru Burdon, from the hedgehog group, said: "If it helps with carpentry skills training, so much the better, these boxes are certainly saving hedgehogs' lives."

Gould said the project also taught health and safety best practice and gave prisoners experience of using machinery and equipment.

"For some, the project provides a valuable introduction to skills that could lead to recognised qualifications and careers in the construction industry."

He said the project helped inmates have a "sense of purpose, achievement and connection to the community" which was "incredibly valuable".

Burdon said the scheme had developed from a chance meeting with a prison officer at the vets.

She said: "He found a little hedgehog in need of care and we got talking, so the upshot was that I gave them the templates for both nesting and feeding boxes."

She said of the 20 boxes the prisoners had given the charity earlier in August, all the feeding boxes had sold out and raised £20 each and there were just a few £25 nesting boxes left.

"The response from the public and our members has been terrific," she added.

Gould said the hedgehog boxes formed part of a wider programme of vocational projects at the prison.

These included refurbishing bikes for donations to the Age Concern Jersey charity, restoring memorial benches , growing plants and vegetables for the prison kitchen and for charity, and helping create wildlife habitats.

"We're proud of the positive contribution prisoners can make through this work and pleased to see these projects being recognised," he added.

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