Jail for hedgehog killer

A student who roasted a hedgehog in a microwave has been sent to prison for 90 days.

The 18-year-old admitted a charge of cruelty with intent to cause unnecessary suffering at Henley Magistrates' Court in Oxon.

The criminal charge against Lee Burden followed a private prosecution brought by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Burden had found the hedgehog outside his halls of residence at Rycotewood College in Oxfordshire.

The RSPCA claimed the prickly animal was slowly roasted to its painful death.

A spokeswoman for the society said: "We are delighted that the courts have recognised the seriousness of the offence and meted out a suitable punishment.

"We hope that this sentence will provide a deterrent to people who have been able to get away with such offences."

The case was brought under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996.