Rescuers worked until the early hours of the morning to rescue four bats stuck in a drain in Stone Cross on Monday night.
Amanda Pye from Beechfield Close, Stone Cross said "We heard a strange noise coming from outside the front door and at first we weren't sure what it was or where it was coming from. After some looking around we found these little creatures chattering away in the bottom of the drain so we called WRAS for help”
East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) was called out to the incident at 9:45pm. Rescuers arrived on site about 10:20pm. The down pipe and drain grill had to be unscrewed in order for rescuers to be able to put an arm down to try and reach the bats.
“It was a difficult rescue and we needed to be very patient. We could only put our arm down so far as the pipe bent away out of sight, meaning every time we moved the bats crawled away out of reach” said Rescue Co-ordinator Trevor Weeks MBE.
Rescuers were able to catch three of the bats and get them into a secure condition. The bats were left close to the drain so their calls could be heard by the remaining bat down the drain.
“The last bat was really wary and the slightest move and it backed off out of sight. I waited for hours trying to catch him but eventually he disappeared and was not seen for ages” said Trevor.
Rescuers left a cloth hanging down the drain in case the bat decided to come forward and climb up and out of its own accord overnight.
Rescuers returned the following morning and used a camera to video inside the pipe , but there was no sign of the bat.
The three rescued pipistrelle bats were taken to Amanda Miller of the Sussex Bat Group for a check up and assessment. She confirmed them as being juvenile Soprano Pips. They were given a hearty meal and taken back after dark the following day and released onto the wall of the house to fly off and explore.
“We were very impressed with the speed of response and professionalism with which the whole situation was handled by the rescuer” added Amanda.
VIDEO USE: This video is free for use by local media to East Sussex UK, like BBC, Meridian ITV, local newspapers and radio stations. For all other use please contact East Sussex WRAS.
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