People could help save lives by making a small change to their gardens. In an alert shared to homeowners, WWF UK explained how a small action can make a big difference.

Taking to Facebook, the wildlife conservation charity urged people to help look after local wildlife by creating 'hedgehog highways'. WWF UK wrote: "Nobody puts hedgehog in the corner. Add a hedgehog highway to your garden by creating small holes (13x13cm) and you’ll help these nocturnal mammals have the time of their life. (Psst. always remember to check with your neighbours first!)"

According to WWF, hedgehog numbers have plummeted in the UK. Figures show numbers have declined by more than 65% since 1995, with habitat loss posing a key threat. However, homeowners with gardens could contribute to efforts to save hedgehogs by working together with their neighbours.

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WWF said: "Gardens provide hedgehogs with really important habitat. Enabling them to roam further along a safe garden highway will give them a better chance to thrive. Their numbers are continuing to fall, so it’s really important we help them."

If you get permission to cut holes in the fences in your garden, a small hole is sufficient. WWF recommends making a gap around the size of a CD case at the bottom of the fence.

The advice explained: "As the weather warms up and these wonderful little wanderers resurface after hibernating, they may reappear in your neighbourhood. Your challenge, if you have a garden, is to make it part of a ‘hedgehog highway’ by making a hole about the size of a CD case at the bottom of your fence, or a similar sized small channel under it, to allow any local hedgehogs to roam further in search of food."

It continued: "They often feed on invertebrates that gardeners consider pests, so they might return your kindness." WWF said people could also help hedgehogs by leaving a wild corner in their garden.

By letting grass and plants grow in one area, homeowners can provide good shelter for hedgehogs, who might also use the materials when building a nest. Water sources are also important. Hedgehogs like ponds with shallow sloping sides or saucers of water, especially during the warmer months.

It's not just hedgehogs that could do with some help during the winter months. According to the RSPB, winter poses several challenges for birds. The charity explained: "When it’s really cold, birds need more energy to stay warm. But in winter there’s less daylight to find food and many of their usual sources run low.

"You can help birds in the winter by providing food in your outdoor space. Kitchen scraps like mild grated cheese, bruised fruit, cooked rice, unsalted bits of hard fat, roast potatoes and dry porridge oats go down a treat with garden birds. Or you can make your own full-fat, high-energy bird cakes."