AN ASBESTOS removal worker has been fined one of the highest penalties for disturbing a bat roosting site.

Animal conservation officers hailed the conviction of Gerard Higham and the £1,500 fine for disturbing a bat nursery roost in Hampshire as a great day for conservation.

Higham ignored an ecological report saying there was a high likelihood the tiny one inch-long Pipistrelle bat bred and brought up their young in the eaves of a house to rip out asbestos.

Wildlife officers said the house was effectively destroyed as a safe habitat for perhaps hundreds of the endangered species by the work on the new Knowle Hospital housing estate, near Fare-ham, last year.

After the case English Nature's species officer Ian Davison-Watts said: "We are very pleased at the verdict and the fine. This is probably the second highest fine in the country. The only other comparable penalty was £2,000 in Leicester.

"We are pleased at the response of the magistrates who have placed great importance on the habitat. They might not have regarded the case as important because there were no dead bats involved.

"For years English Nature has been saying the habitat is as important as the animal itself, especially with endangered species like bats.

"Bats are all highly protected by UK and European law because they are in danger of dying out because their habitats are being destroyed at a very fast rate.''

The trial at Fareham Magistrates' Court yesterday highlighted a loophole in the planning process that allowed Knowle Village estate to be built without a pre-condition of special wildlife protection measures being installed.

Mr Davison-Watts added after the case: "The bats have been let down by the lack of consultation between the planning authority, the builder Berkeley Homes, the ecological consultancy Ecological, Planning and Research and Mr Higham's company.

"Neither of them talked to English Nature to ask our advice for a conservation programme. We could have lost hundreds of bats, we will never know now.''

Higham, of London, was a contractor for Berkeley Homes when he disturbed the breeding site. He denied the charge under the Conservation (natural habitats) Regulations 1994 claiming no bats inhabited the roof, despite evidence of bat droppings. Police were called when the work was discovered. The maximum fine is £5,000.

Higham was unavailable for comment after the case.