DORSET'S rural hedgehog population is in decline, according to new research by Dorset Wildlife Trust.

The organisation has been inviting members of the public to record sightings of hedgehogs for a new census.

Early figures indicate the largest populations of the creature in the county are in urban areas, including Weymouth and Dorchester.

Sarah Williams, the conservation officer for the trust who is compiling the report, said: "Hedgehogs are normally much more associated with the countryside.

"As the name suggests they live in hedges, but the decline in hedges seems to have had an impact on their numbers.

"The other problem is that the nice, thick bases of hedges, where they like to be, are deteriorating too.

"We're definitely seeing less hedges with those kind of bases for hedgehogs to live in.

"As a result, what we're seeing is a decline in traditional habitats which are being replaced more by people's gardens in urban areas."

The trust has been inviting people to contact them with hedgehog sightings, so officers accept that the findings may be slightly skewed.

Miss Williams said: "The densest concentrations of hedgehogs we seem to have found are in Dorchester, Portland and Weymouth.

"We also have quite a few in Sherborne, Bridport and Beaminster. Obviously there are more people living in these areas, so there is a slight bias.

"We use a dot mapper - each record that gets reported to us comes up as a coloured dot, so they're obviously a bit more concentrated in towns and villages."

Despite this, Miss Williams said that there ws still a problem. She said: "We did a small survey three years ago of hares in the county and we concluded there was not a problem.

"When it comes to hedgehogs we're seeing there is a problem which we weren't expecting. There is a definite decline in their distribution and it's looking quite worrying in rural areas."

The trust's research comes as a new national report, funded with government and charity money, concludes the hedgehog will be extinct by 2025.

To send information to the trust about the local hedgehog population, whether dead or alive, visit the trust's website at www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/dorset/ projects/hedgehog.htm