Hedgehog with 'balloon syndrome' that blew up to the size of a football saved by rescuers after she was spotted from a bus

A hedgehog that blew up to the size of a football has been saved by rescuers after she was spotted from a bus in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire.

The hedgehog, called Bounce, was found in a field on Monday April 15 suffering from a build-up of gas under the skin due to an infection.

Rescuers worked against the clock to save the creature before she could explode, injecting her to let the build up of gas hiss out.

The hedgehog, which had ballooned to twice her normal size, is recovering at a hedgehog rescue centre and being treated for 'balloon syndrome.'  

Emily Harper of Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue said Bounce had been suffering from a bacterial infection.

She said: 'It happens when a bacterial infection gets underneath the skin.

'We immediately deflated her because she was so big, her skin was so tight.

'She couldn't curl up, she couldn't walk because her legs were trapped.

'We took her to the vets. We could see some blood on her head.

'There are lots of things that can cause balloon syndrome, so we wanted to make sure she was checked over.

'We think she had a wound that became infected.

'The skin had healed over, but hedgehogs have a unique structure where they have skin, a gap, and then their muscular skeletal structure underneath.

'When that becomes infected, the wound releases gas, and if its trapped, the hedgehog expands.

The rescuer added that Bounce is still quite large and would need to be cared for for a little while, adding that while she hasn't re-inflated, there's still more gas trapped under her skin. 

She also said that she was surprised the hedgehog had even been spotted.

Emily said: 'She was so big that a man on a bus managed to spot her in a field.

'She'd grown so big you couldn't see her legs and her skin was very tight at the limit of what it could stretch to.

'She was very large but generally in good health.'

Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue centre takes in around 500 hedgehogs a year.

The animal rescue worker said 'What we do see this time of year is everyone going out and cutting their grass and lots of hedgehogs being injured by strimmers.

'We've had three hedgehogs in over the last two weeks and they've all been fatal.

'So we ask everyone to really be careful.'

The rescue centre will keep Bounce in its care for another few weeks, before releasing her back into the wild near where she was found.

They've launched a fundraising page to help with the cost of her care.