THIS little bat is on its way back to full health after it was found tangled in fishing line and hanging over Wimborne’s River Allen last week.

The RSPCA was called to rescue the “gorgeous young lad” – now renamed Jordan after the vet who treated it – after it was spotted on September 17.

It’s the second bat rescued from the same stretch of river recently. Both were caught on fly fishing hooks. Fly fishing is not allowed along that particular stretch of the water.

RSPCA Inspector Josephine Story said: “The bat was found hanging in a tree over the river. He was caught on half a metre of fishing line with the hook through his wing.

“He had likely been there for some time as bats don’t usually fly during the day.”

The bat was taken to Piddle Valley Vets in Puddletown, where it was anaesthetised to remove the hook.

“Fortunately the bat should make a full recovery,” Insp Story said. The Daubenton’s bat is now recovering at East Dorset Bat Rescue

A spokesman for the rescue said: “He is a gorgeous young lad, only a few months old.

“It is the wrong time of year for a quick heal – bats slow down on colder nights and so does their healing – so it will be a few months before he’s fully recovered from his ordeal.

“This is the second bat rescued from the same stretch of river, both caught on fly fishing hooks. There should not be fly fishing taking place at this location at all.

“The last bat had a hook going through her cheek and into her tongue.

"She made a full recovery and was released back into the wild, still lactating, to hopefully return to her pup.”