The number of hedgehogs is falling so quickly they will be wiped out here in 10 years, Michaela Strachan has said.

The TV presenter’s warning came as fellow Springwatch host Chris Packham called for wolves to be brought back to the UK.

Michaela, 49, said hedgehogs were declining “at the same rate as tigers”.

She added: “They’re in ­critical danger, particularly in London. If we don’t do anything they’ll be gone in 10 years.”

She urged people to dig holes under garden fences as the animals forage over an area the size of two football pitches.

She told the Radio Times: “We are so familiar with hedgehogs it’s easy to forget that we need to conserve them. Familiar animals can be the ones in real danger.”

Chris wants wolves back in Britain but admits the public and sheep farmers would need winning over.

He said: “We have lived without them in the UK for such a long time people are very resistant to the idea, which is a shame as we need them and it’d be tremendously exciting.”

Chris, 54, said natural predators including wolves and lynx cats would control the population of creatures such as deer.

Wolves live in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Sweden but have not roamed the UK for 200 years.

He suggested they be introduced in Scotland and said they would be an economic asset, with tourists flocking to see them.

Springwatch starts a 12-episode run on BBC2 on Monday (May 25) at 8pm.

Originally published on Mirror Online.