POLICE raced to a building site to search for a pair of suspected burglars moving around in the dark with torches... only to discover two women conducting a survey on bats.

Officers from the Essex Police dog section were alerted to the suspicious activity by a security firm who were keeping an eye on a new housing estate in Dry Street, Basildon.

The security guards had spotted two people wearing head torches and quickly called the police assuming the pair were up to no good.

But PC Tony Mayo, a dog handler with Essex Police, was astounded to discover that the suspected thieves were actually two women in a field checking on the types and numbers of bats there.

He said: “Security at the site rang in to say that they could see people with head torches on.

“They thought that it looked suspicious and were concerned that they were trying to steal something or cause criminal damage at the building site.

“It was at the new housing estate on Dry Street.

“When we got there, we managed to find the suspects, who were just two ladies doing a national bat survey of all things.

“They told us that they had never had a problem with doing it before, because it had just been fields beforehand.

“They had never had the police check up on them.

“They were in the field next to the building site. We gave them some appropriate advice but they weren’t really doing much wrong.

“We just left them to their bat hunting.”

Mr Mayo said that members of the public should continue to call police if they have any concerns about suspicious activity, particularly concerning burglaries.

Bat surveys are of great value to bat conservation, according to the Bat Conservation Trust.

They usually involve visiting a roost or potential foraging site on two evenings in the summer.

Anyone with information about burglaries can call Essex Police on 101 or independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

Alternatively visit www.crimestoppers-uk.org to complete an online form.