AN Oxford man's petition to see all new builds include 'hedgehog highways' has hit the half a million mark.

Florence Park author and hedgehog campaigner Hugh Warwick started the campaign, which is calling on government to change planning laws, six months ago.

And now, 511,000 people – and counting – have backed his idea.

Mr Warwick, 52, wants to see all new build developments incorporate small holes at the base of fences, just 13cm square, that will allow hedgehogs to move freely.

Oxford Mail:

Hugh creates a hole in a wall for hedgehogs to move freely to find food and mates. Picture: Zoe Broughton

He explained: "I had worried that I had reached ‘peak hedgehog'.

"For about a month the petition was moving so very slowly. Then last week it picked up steam. And now I am utterly thrilled to see so much support around the country for this threatened animal."

Mr Warwick, who says he started the petition in his East Oxford shed, is delighted to have the support local MP, Anneliese Dodds.

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He continued: "Politicians are not getting a very good press at the moment, so it was a really pleasure to meet my MP at the Florence Park Community Centre as she took part in the Great Hedgehog Bake-Off and Fancy Dress Party the other week.

"She has written to Kit Malthouse, the housing Minister, asking for a meeting with me to talk about how to make this petition become a real change in planning law."

Mr Warwick, who has been studying the spiky mammals for more than 30 years, helps run national campaign Hedgehog Street and leads the county spin off, HedgeOX.

READ MORE: HedgeOx's Hugh Warwick launches hedgehog-friendly fencing campaign

He says hedgehog numbers have declined dramatically across the country and the county - down 30 per cent in urban areas and 50 per cent in rural areas since the turn of the century.

But, he says, there is an easy way to help.

His petition explains: "A key cause of (hedgehogs) dying out is that our landscapes are being fenced off into ever smaller fragments. We need to make sure new housing developments include ‘hedgehog highways’ - a 13 cm hole in the bottom of a fence that allows hedgehogs to move freely between gardens to find food and find a mate.

"This will allow gardens to be connected, creating the pathways they need to survive.

It continues: "This simple move would have a big impact on the UK’s hedgehogs - and it’s cheap and easy for developers to carry out. So I’m calling upon government to ensure every new housing development builds in these holes for hedgehog highways.

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"We can’t sit back and let hedgehog numbers keep plummeting. It’s estimated that numbers are already down 95% since the 1950s. We have to act now."

Mr Warwick also advocates 'hedgehog friendly gardens', including a wild patch and a compost heap or log pile and removing hazards like netting or poisons on plants.

He adds: "Together we are so much more powerful and effective. If we all join in, great changes can happen."

To view the petition in full, or to sign it, visit https://bit.ly/2NXWZlS