9th October 2017

On Thursday 5th October 2017, Paul William Floyd and Ronald John Floyd of Havant, Hampshire pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Magistrates Court to a charge of illegally destroying a bat roost. Each was fined £200 and ordered to pay £35 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

The Floyds are directors of a building company Havant Building Services Ltd. In February 2017 they were undertaking work on a house in Rowlands Castle, Hampshire, when a worker on site stripping roof tiles, discovered a bat. The finding of the animal and sightings of others in the roof was reported to the Floyds who initially stopped work. However some time later an employee reported that no more bats had been seen and the work recommenced. No ecological advice was at any time sought. During the course of the Police investigation a bat worker visited the address but no evidence of a roost was found.

The sentences imposed accepted the suggestion put forward by the defence that a single animal had occupied the destroyed roost.

BCT would like to thanks all those involved in this case. In particular PC Lynn Owen wildlife crime officer for Hampshire Constabulary, Mark Gammon, specialist wildlife crime prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service and Giles Fletcher the prosecutor.

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