PLANS to rebuild a village sports pavilion hit a snag when some high-flying lodgers were found in the roof.

Bats have been discovered in the roof lining of the building on Blakedown and Churchill sports fields.

The structure was due to be knocked down during the summer but members of the villages’ sports committee are nervously awaiting the results of a report by bat experts.

They hope to go ahead with the planned work but, depending on the level of bat activity in the pavilion, it could be illegal to completely destroy the building.

If the complete re-build is allowed, work will not start until the animals’ roosting period ends in October.

The new pavilion will then have to accommodate the bats with boxes and gaps in the roof for them to enter.

“When we were first told there were bats we thought ‘Oh God it’s going to stop everything being done’ but we can see the positive side now,” said Freda Griffith, secretary of Churchill and Blakedown Sports Committee.

“If we can accommodate the bats then it’s nice to think that we can live in tandem with wildlife.”

The committee is asking people to buy bat boxes made by students at Kidderminster College and donate them for use in the new pavilion.

Mrs Griffith added: “The sports centre and its supporters have provided bird boxes over the years and placed these in the trees around the field so perhaps it is time to provide some for our flying mammals.”

Planning permission for the project was given in 2008 but there have been delays so far in getting funding.

The existing pavilion and tennis club building on Blakedown playing fields will be demolished and replaced with a new structure containing changing facilities, a functions area and a meeting room.

The facility is used by football and cricket clubs and Blakedown Primary School for after-school clubs.