A BAT found dangling from an emergency cord in a hospital storage room was rescued by the RSPCA.
A member of staff on Elm Ward at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, made the discovery before calling for help.
RSPCA Inspector Sam Morris came out the following morning to catch the pipistrelle bat.
She said: “Staff had locked the bat in as they were terrified of him! He was tiny so I suspect he was a youngster who’d got trapped in the storage room after finding his way into the hospital.
“When I went inside he was hanging upside down off of the red emergency cord!
“The room was used to store hospital furniture so I had to clamber over hospital beds and stacks of chairs to get to him but easily captured him.”
Inspector Morris checked the little bat over but he wasn’t injured or sick.
“Thankfully the little bat was fine - just a little lost!” she added.
“I was able to take him away and then released him at dusk on Easter Monday. It was lovely to see him flitting away.”
If you see a bat in need of help contact the RSPCA's 24-hour cruelty and advice line on 0300 1234 999.
For more information, see the 'living with bats' fact-sheet on the charity's website.
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