THE latest bid to develop Tetbury's Rail Shed for a community project has been hampered by the discovery of rare wildlife.

A male Lesser Horseshoe Bat, which is protected under European and British Law, was found nesting in the roof of the building a few weeks ago.

It is the latest glitch to hit the Rail Land project which has been ongoing for more than a decade.

Planning permission to convert the building was only granted last month and work to create community art space was hoped to be starting shortly.

However the discovery means all work on the project has had to cease while investigations by a bat expert are carried out.

The Rail Shed's winged tenant was the topic of lively discussion at this week's town council meeting as councillors discussed what to do with their furry friend.

The mayor of Tetbury, Stephen Hirst, said: "Males we are told are very solitary creatures. They fly off in August to mate and it's currently got a nest in the roof. In winter time it's suspected it comes down and hibernates under the floor where it's much warmer."

Cllr Hirst and Rodger Williams, the town administrator, confirmed no work could be done on the Rail Shed for up to four months while further surveys are carried out.

Cllr Peter Martin said he believed the bat could open up a whole new avenue of opportunities for Tetbury.

He said: "This is a great opportunity because with something like bats in there we can apply for funding to organisations which were not interested in it before."

"We should make this into an opportunity it could attract people to the town."

Councillors discussed how the council would work around the bat problem and agreed to form a working party to look at the situation.