Council bosses are following in the footsteps of Coronation Street character Roy Cropper by demanding that the nocturnal creatures are not disturbed.

In the ITV1 soap, Roy helped halt work on a building site due to the existence of a bat colony.

Now, Ribble Valley Borough Council has adopted planning regulations protecting pipistrelle bats roosting beneath ridge tiles of Slaidburn Village Hall.

A bat tube has been placed in the gable end of the building and special bat boxes have been fixed to the site as part of a major refurbishment.

The council has adopted compulsory protected species surveys as part of its planning process and signed up to the Lancashire Biodiversity Action Plan, which has targets for the preserving of threatened species and habitats.

The council's countryside officer, David Hewitt, said: "Local authorities are now required to avoid any negative impact on threatened species and habitats.

"Ribble Valley Borough Council has met this challenge by introducing site specific planning conditions designed to create and enhance habitat, as well as bat surveys for all planning applications.

"We are also working closely with the East Lancashire Bat Group in the monitoring of bats in Ribble Valley."

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