An adult male hedgehog was discovered by a farmer behind Wakefield Police Station in West Yorkshire after it had been spray-painted blue to resemble the cartoon character Sonic.

The paint was applied so close to a large area of the animal's back that chemicals burned away several layers of skin and caused its spines to melt.

The creature was taken to Castleford Hedgehog Rescue in West Yorkshire around 4 pm on Tuesday, October 27, and died the following morning from its injuries.

Beth Campsill, 29, who runs the rescue charity, said it was the worst case of spray-paint-based cruelty she has witnessed in her 16 years of work.

"When the hedgehog was brought to us he was screaming in pain. I gave the poor thing the maximum pain relief I could, but he didn't stop, he effectively screamed himself to death," she said.

Campsill added that infection from the chemical burns and possible poisoning from paint toxins caused the death.

She posted about the incident on Facebook, noting that some commenters suggested the substance might have been an antiseptic spray for livestock, but she believes it was spray paint because of its thick texture and the way it burned the skin.

The rescue worker also had to scrape off remaining spines that had not yet fallen out.

RSPCA guidelines explain that the hedgehog was also suffering from flystrike, a condition where flies lay eggs on wounds and maggots feed on the flesh, which can be fatal.

Campsill said the animal would likely have endured a slow and extremely painful death in the wild, and she was relieved it was brought in so its suffering could be eased.

Hedgehogs are listed as "vulnerable" on Britain's red list of mammals, with numbers falling up to 30 % in urban areas and 50 % in rural areas since the turn of the century, according to the State of Britain's hedgehogs report.

Campsill plans to report the case to police but is uncertain whether the perpetrator will be held responsible given the location where the hedgehog was found.

The incident follows a similar case in Yeadon, West Yorkshire, where a female hedgehog was painted yellow and blue in Leeds United colours, leaving her unable to curl up and struggling to breathe from fumes.

Staff at the rescue centre that treated the Yeadon hedgehog described the act as "disgusting".