HEDGEHOGS being cared for in Gwent will soon be covering our cards and letters as they become the new faces of a set of stamps.

The prickly creatures, which have been rescued from hedgerows and ditches, are currently enjoying rest and recuperation at a rescue centre in Pontllanfraith.

The hedgehogs, from centres across Wales including Wrexham and at a bird sanctuary in the Gower, are one of ten mammals featured in the Royal Mail's latest Action for Species series.

Keith Jones, of Hedgehog Helpline in Pontllanfraith, said: "We are all concerned about the dwindling population of hedgehogs. I have been caring for them for 26 years ever since I found one in a neighbour's garden. But there has been a drastic decline in their numbers over the years."

Mr Jones takes them to local schools to raise awareness amongst youngsters about their plight.

The stamps, called Mammals, will be issued tomorrow in a block of ten first class stamps which will feature the polecat, wildcat, water vole, otter, dormouse, greater horseshoe bat, brown long-eared bat, humpback whale and the sperm whale as well as the hedgehog.