BAT OUT OF HALEBANK (From Warrington Guardian)

BAT OUT OF HALEBANK

ENVIRONMENTAL health officers were put on red alert this week in a rabies scare.

Widnes timber merchants Roger Haydock of Mersey View Road raised the alarm when they discovered a bat in a consignment of wood imported from America.

Halton Council immediately consulted top experts.

However, after tests and a thorough investigation, it was revealed that the bat had only flown in from Pickerings Pasture - just down the road in Halebank!

A spokeswoman for Halton Council said:"If it was a bat from America, the company thought it could have rabies.

"Our environmental health officers consulted with leading experts and spent most of the day investigating. In the end, it was discovered that it was a Pickerings Pasture bat."

The tiny bat was looked after by licensed bat worker Fiona Angwin until it was released at Runcorn Hill.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.