TELEPHONE engineering technician Colin Greening has been hailed by colleagues as ‘Batman’ after he swooped to the rescue of soprano pipistrelle bat which had become trapped in a loo.

He found the distressed creature inside a toilet pan at BT’s telephone exchange in Sherston, near Malmesbury, after completing maintenance work there.

Mr Greening, who has worked for BT for 11 years, was aware that all bat species in the UK are protected by law.

He said: “I knew the importance of following the correct procedure when handling a bat.

“I was concerned that this little bat would drown so I put on my gloves and gently fished it out.

“I carried it to my van where I turned the heaters on low to warm it up and dry it.”

Mr Greening, who lives in Swindon, then sought advice from the Bat Conservation Trust, in accordance with BT’s biodiversity policy, which praised his quick-thinking actions.

He added: “I placed the bat in a box with some drinking water. It dried out nicely and was quite comfortable.

“I left it to find its way back into the wild once it had made a full recovery and was strong enough to fly again.”