{"id":716591,"date":"2026-07-29T03:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T03:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/716591\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T03:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T03:47:19","slug":"contractor-fined-after-desperate-bats-attack-tenant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/716591\/","title":{"rendered":"Contractor fined after desperate bats attack tenant"},"content":{"rendered":"

The victim was admitted to hospital with bite wounds after more than 150 bats flew into his living quarters and bedroom from the house\u2019s roof structure\u00a0where they had been trapped.<\/p>\n

When ecology experts examined the property in\u00a0Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, they\u00a0identified\u00a0the animals as Soprano Pipistrelle bats which are protected under European law.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Evidence presented by prosecutors from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) showed around half of the 300 bats in the colony had died of dehydration and starvation.<\/p>\n

This came after work to install solar panels and external cladding\u00a0blocked off the entrance to\u00a0the bat roost within the roof of the building.<\/p>\n

At Dumfries Sheriff Court yesterday City Building (Glasgow),\u00a0were fined \u00a317,000 after pleading guilty to breaching animal conservation laws between June and July 2023.<\/p>\n

Iain Batho, who leads on animal welfare for COPFS, said: \u201cIt is the responsibility of those\u00a0involved in\u00a0construction work to ensure\u00a0that due diligence is carried out to prevent the unlawful disturbance of protected wildlife or their habitats.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCity Building (Glasgow)\u00a0failed in their duty to\u00a0carry out that necessary due diligence which\u00a0negatively\u00a0impacted\u00a0on a sizeable\u00a0maternity roost and\u00a0resulted in the death of around 150\u00a0bats.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u00a0impaired the ability of these bats to survive\u00a0and rear their young during the maternity season and\u00a0will\u00a0impact\u00a0significantly\u00a0on the Soprano Pipistrelle\u00a0bat population in that area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCOPFS takes\u00a0wildlife crime\u00a0seriously and action will be taken against individuals or companies where there is sufficient evidence of a crime and where it is in\u00a0the\u00a0public\u00a0interest to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Building (Glasgow) were contracted by the property\u2019s landlord, Wheatley Homes South, to fit external cladding to the house and install solar panels.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement for the work to be carried out, CBG were responsible for reviewing each property to identify the presence of bats. But this was not done in relation to the property in question.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Solar panels were installed on 23 June 2023, and external wall insulation was carried out between 28 June and 5 July.<\/p>\n

This work was\u00a0largely outsourced\u00a0by CBG to subcontractors. The tenant remained within the address throughout.<\/p>\n

On 14 July, the tenant and his family complained to Wheatley Housing South that\u00a0a huge number\u00a0of dead and dying bats were within the property.<\/p>\n

The tenant was taken to hospital where he was admitted and treated for bat bites and was\u00a0subsequently\u00a0rehoused.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The ecologist estimated the roost had\u00a0contained\u00a0around 150 adult bats and a similar number of pups, making a total of 300 animals.<\/p>\n

Around half were dead in and around the locus with others dying or trying to get out of the property most of whom were pups.<\/p>\n

The bats appeared to them to be coming from a hole around the boiler in a bedroom where pipework went up to the attic area.<\/p>\n

They could see new facias and work on the roof area preventing bats from entering and exiting the roof as they were able\u00a0to\u00a0prior to the work.<\/p>\n

The injured bats were uplifted and removed for treatment.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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