A local resident has just informed us of this shocking attack on a hedgehog - any animal would be awful, of course...
‘We came down one morning on Carnival weekend to find the skin of a hedgehog in our front garden. It had been skilfully skinned, leaving only what you see in the photos, and had obviously been done at around 05:00-06:00 that morning, as when we found it the blood was still fresh and red.
‘We were devastated to find this and to think someone had done it either in or just outside our garden. Very sad.’
It seems this kind of incident is on the rise; but it must be reported for any chance of stamping it out. You can contact Crimestoppers without giving your name, or call the police on 101.
POSTSCRIPT: thanks to the readers who have offered a more palatable explanation - that this may have been the work of badgers. The evidence either way is gone now, of course; and no expertise was available at the time.