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

The brown long-eared bat named Gluey was found on a piece of fly paper at a house in Highworth three weeks ago, and may have been stuck for 24 hours before staff were able to get to him.

Jess Ostler, senior animal carer at the centre near Cricklade, said: “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 hours and hours, and not knowing what’s going on.”

Staff used cotton buds lubricated with butter to free Gluey’s wings.

Doing as much as they could they 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.

“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.”