Firefighters Rescue Bat Tangled In Fishing Line

Firefighters have performed an unusual rescue after a bat got tangled up in a fishing line in Great Bowden.

The mammal was spotted in difficulty up a tree off Leicester Road, near the Grand Union Canal.

The bat was rescued from Great Bowden Pic: Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital

Staff at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital in Kibworth were made aware of the bat’s plight and then called Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service for help.

A spokesperson for LFRS told HFM: “A crew from Market Harborough Fire Station attended, and liaising with the Bat Conservation Trust, formulated a rescue plan, using a ceiling hook, to release the bat.

“A member of the public then took the bat to the local Wildlife Hospital for it to receive care.”

A fishing hook was removed from the bat’s wing following its ordeal last Friday and it is now rehabilitating in the care of the Leicester and Rutland Bat Group, before being released back into the wild.

A fishing hook was removed from the bat’s wing  Pic: Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital