A bat was rescued from a block of flats in Watford after residents initially thought they were the target of a Halloween prank.  

The tiny pipistrelle bat gave the couple a fright when they spotted him in the corridor leading to their flat in Harris House, Himalayan Way.

They opened a window but the bat found its way into a light shade on the wall and stayed put.

Concerned for the bat’s welfare, they contacted RSPCA animal collection officer Kate Wright who scooped out the tiny creature with a spoon.

Kate said: “The bat really scared the couple at first, and they thought that someone was playing a Halloween trick on them, but it would seem that the bat may have just found his way into the corridor and couldn’t find his way out.

“Instead of going out of window which had been opened for him, he flew into a light shade attached to the wall and he wouldn’t come out.

“I had to stand on a chair to have a look, and there he was lying underneath the bulb but thankfully not too near to it.

“It’s very lucky they saw him go in there as he wouldn’t have been able to get back outside otherwise, and nobody would know he was there.

“I borrowed a spoon from the couple to gently scoop him out, as there was no other way to reach him.”

After being safely removed from the light shade, Kate checked him over and saw that he was not injured.

“I took him outside and released him,” she added.

“He flew a circle around me before flying away, which I’d like to think was his way of saying thank you.”

In the UK there are a total of 18 different types of bats, with common pipistrelles the most often encountered species.