George is a hog - his eating habits have made his waistline expand to the point where he can double up as a prickly football.

The hugely obese hedgehog who weighs in at 2.2 kilos - four times the weight he should be - has attracted teams of reporters and television crews desperate for a new angle on the national obesity epidemic to Wildlife Aid in Leatherhead.

Discovered by one of Wildlife Aid's volunteers in the garden of friends, George was taken to the animal sanctuary where originally it was thought he was suffering from a condition called ballooning - where air gets trapped under the skin.

But later it was discovered George - who was brought in with another hedgehog called Mildred - was just vastly overweight.

Staff searched for a pair of scales to accommodate the enormous hog and were astounded at his weight - an average adult hedgehog will weigh between 600 and 700g.

Although George is fairly active his health is being affected by the excess weight he is carrying.

As in humans, carrying this amount of fat could cause obesity-related illnesses such as heart disease, high cholesterol levels, along with joint and mobility problems.

To tackle the problem George has been put on a strict animal equivalent of the Atkins diet. He has one meal a day of cat food which contains all the correct nutrients needed for a healthy hedgehog and is under the close observation of Wildlife Aid staff.

The other effect of the excess weight is that George has not yet shown any signs of going into hibernation. His insulating layer of fat is preventing him from feeling the cold, and so his body is not telling him to go to sleep.

A spokesman for Wildlife Aid said: "He is currently being kept in a heated greenhouse to prevent him even trying to hibernate.

"If he were to start into hibernation there is a real possibility that toxins could be released into his body due to the layers of fat surrounding his internal organs, and this would most certainly kill him."

Along with many other animals and birds, the centre has 60 hedgehogs to care for which are sick and injured or weigh too little to survive the winter without help.

Wildlife Aid runs an adopt-a-hedgehog scheme. For details visit wildlifeaid.com