A HEDGEHOG was saved from a very sticky situation after getting totally encased in clay.

       The prickly critter tumbled into a waterlogged trench on a building site.

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       The poor hedgehod had become totally encased in clay Credit: Esther Chant/ Magnus News 6

       Volunteers had to work hard to clean the hedgehog up Credit: Esther Chant/ Magnus News

       And she got covered in mud as she spent hours trying to escape.

       Workers found the hedgehog when they returned to the site in St Albans, Herts, on Monday morning.

       After pulling her out, volunteers spent 30 minutes cleaning off the clumps of clay.

       Esther Chant, of London Colney Hedgehog Rescue, said: “She was a clay mud ball and freezing cold.

       "Her claws are worn down where she had been scratching to get out.

       “The site was unattended over the weekend and judging by the state she was in she had been there all that time.

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       “Because she was so cold it made it difficult for us to relax her properly from her ball shape.

       “If we had warmed her up first, the clay would have dried hard.

       “We named her Clayla, and she will stay at the rescue to make sure she has a full bill of health before being returned to a nearby garden.”

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       The hedgehog had to be kept cool so the clay would not dry Credit: Esther Chant/ Magnus News 6

       The hedgehog has been nicknamed Clayla Credit: Esther Chant/ Magnus News 6

       Clayla has been given a clean bill of health Credit: Esther Chant/ Magnus News 6

       The hedgehog had fallen into a hole on a building site Credit: Esther Chant/ Magnus News

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