Rick Blagden built a hedgehog themed bar in his back garden, out of all recycled materials, and when him and his wife Annette kept coming across critters in need, he put his woodworking skills to a new challenge - a hedgehog hospital.
Videographer/video journalist Lucinda Herbert speaks to the couple about their inspirational DIY project.
00:00I was watching Clarkson's programme on telly and I thought to myself, I can do that.
00:07I've always fancied a bar.
00:09So when a friend of ours was clearing out their back garden and they were throwing out the shed,
00:16so I said, don't throw that out, don't take a tip, I'll have it and make a bar out of it.
00:21And they said to me, make a bar out of that, you're choking.
00:25I said, I'll prove it to you.
00:26So I did.
00:27And it took me about three months to complete.
00:33Sourcing materials, the optics, so I rang the bottles up.
00:39They came from the marketplace.
00:41The fridge, that was getting thrown out from my neighbour who was moving home.
00:45He said I couldn't take it with him, so it was free to go home, sticker on it.
00:50So I picked it up and brought it home.
00:52And how much in total do you think the project has cost you?
00:57Um, I would say about, what about £100, roughly.
01:06And the sheds, the sheds themselves are about £400 or £500, brand new.
01:11And I got that for free.
01:13And the pellets were free to repair the rotten bits.
01:18We found a couple of wild hedgehogs on the street and the hedgehog rescues are all full.
01:26So we had to come up with a quick solution.
01:30Because there was getting more and more hedgehogs coming, we said that we'll get a shed.
01:36We'll do exactly the same as what I did at the bar, but I'll turn it into a hedgehog rescue hospital.
01:42That's the tiniest one we've had.
01:44Now, here you had to go to the rescue and be put in an incubator.
01:47And what about some of these other hedgehogs?
01:49Some of these others just needed feeding up roundworm treatments, fluids.
01:54Some of them were just cold, really cold.
01:59So I fully insulated the walls with loft insulation from another source of Marketplace.
02:07And the panels inside, they're actually from the offices where I used to work.
02:13Because they were throwing them out in a skip.
02:14And I said, I'll have them.
02:16And it just stemmed from that.
02:19I've moved my craft stuff in here as well.
02:21So I've decided to use this as the craft room as well as a hedgehog room.
02:25I feel blessed that I'm capable of doing all that myself.
02:30And I feel like I've got myself a purpose in life.
02:35Instead of, you know, when you come home, most people are bored out of their heads.
02:40Or they're busy looking after the family.
02:43And I've been doing this as a hobby for the last 20 years.
02:49Because I don't believe in throwing everything away.
02:53And I like recycling stuff.
02:55And it makes me feel great.
03:00So have you managed to enjoy the fruits of your labour?
03:05I certainly have.
03:07Especially the hot tub area.
03:09That's my favourite.
03:09Because on a really hard day at work, come home, jump in a hot tub.
03:17All your ailments and aches and pains just disappear.
03:22And you feel like you're actually on holiday in Cornwall or away abroad somewhere.
03:29All your ailments and aches and pains, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home, come home.
