Home Office accused of disturbing rare nesting bats at proposed asylum seeker site

Government contractors carrying out works to set up the controversial plans were reported to the police over disrupting bats by exposing them to massive floodlights during the construction process.

Subsequently, locals railing against the plans insist the Home Office was putting the much-loved - and legally-protected - wildlife of Great Britain at risk.

Last week, Piddington voted overwhelmingly in favour of leaving the UK in a symbolic referendum expressing their fury at Labour's proposed plan.

The Home Office is now alleged to have breached regulations laid out in the 2007 regarding habitat conservations.

In the regulations, it is a crime to purposely or recklessly disturb one of Britain's bats.

Now, in a potentially embarrassing blunder for Labour, Piddington residents say the Home Office must acquire a licence from Natural England before carrying out work disturbing the winged creatures.

The bats in the area include a protected endangered species known as Barbastelle, which is one of the rarest mammals in the country.

The nocturnal creatures could scupper the Home Office's plans entirely

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Dr Claire Brenner, who is an ecologist, said she had referred the contractors to police.

"Putting up large floodlights overnight, on a site we know is used by legally-protected bats, is exactly the kind of unlicensed disturbance the law exists to prevent," she told The Telegraph.

"Bats are light-averse: illuminating a roost or a commuting route can cause a colony to abandon it, sometimes for good.

"The [Ministry of Defence] must ask its contractors to switch off or fully shield this lighting immediately, and to confirm whether a European protected species licence was sought from Natural England before it was installed.

Locals fear being outnumbered by their possible new neighbours

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"If it wasn’t, this is a wildlife crime, and it should be investigated as one."

Barbastelle bats, which are on the endangered "red list", were found this month as experts deployed echo sounding equipment and video.

Now, the plans to house more than 1,200 undocumented male migrants could be deplayed - or scrapped altogether.

The presence of the nocturnal animals has already successfully scuppered Government plans.

Last year, Norfolk Council ditched its plan to build its £274million Norwich Western Link after a cloud of bats were found along the line.

Before pursuing the Home Office's plans, Shabana Mahmood's department must now carry out special surveys to set out the size and nature of the protected species in the area.

With winter on the way, and bats settling into hibernation, experts may not be able to identify the necessary specifics until next spring.

GB News has approached the Home Office and Natural England for comment.