Hats off to rescuers who saved truly beautiful wee bat – Hayley Matthews

I've had bats in my garden for a good few years. Just as the sun sets each night they start fluttering about gracefully as they begin their evening. They're truly beautiful.

A bat, thought to be a pipistrelle like this one, was recently given a helping hand by staff at East Coast Organics (Picture: Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty Images)

Many a time I've stood out trying to connect with them or get a better glimpse to see how big they are. However, it's difficult after a few glasses of wine and in the dark!

I've been worried about them in the heat recently, so when I saw a post on Facebook mentioning a rescue mission that the team at East Coast Organics had taken on, I was delighted.

They'd found a tired little guy, given him some water and popped him in a box for a rest. How lovely that they helped the little soul in his time of need, recognising that he wasn't quite right.

The story proved to have a happy ending because, after a while, the team reported he seemed pretty energetic as he crawled up one of the girl’s arms onto her shoulder. I have to admit, I'm incredibly jealous of their experience.

Seeing the bat so close up, they could see he was tiny and thought he was a pipistrelle. These wee guys are the UK’s smallest species of bat, another good reason to help them out.

So a huge ‘well done’ to the five-strong team of girls who took him to a tree nearby so he could crawl up, hanging upside down as bats do, and then continue on his journey. East Coast Organics – you are all an amazing group who clearly go above and beyond for all your customers, and your winged night-time visitors too.