A BAT has escaped a sticky situation thanks to Oak and Furrows Wildlife Centre.

Gluey the brown long-eared bat was found on a piece of fly paper near Highworth three weeks ago.

The traps are covered in a sticky adhesive substance to trap flies and other insects. 

Jess Ostler, senior animal carer at Oak and Furrows, told the Adver: “He was found in the day so he could have been there for up to 24 hours before we found him.

“He had managed to pull free part of his face and he’d lost a lot of fur, it was clear that he was very stressed.

“Imagine being stuck like that for hour and hours, and not knowing what’s going on."

Staff used cotton buds lubricated with spreadable butter to carefully free Gluey's wings as much as they could.

They then took him to a nearby vets who gave him some gas and air while they removed parts of the fly paper.

After close attention, and some electrolytes and meal worms to nurse him back to health, Gluey was eventually released after three attempts.

“We released him where we found him,” added Jess. “They need to get back to their roost to give them the best chance of survival.

“It’s sad and happy. We have a lot of animals and birds but at the end of the day they’re wild animals and they have to be released.

"It's more common we find birds in these traps, we've had a kestrel that was stuck to an adhesive rat trap. It's something people should bear in mind before using that kind of insect control."