A SPECIAL bat themed weekend is taking place at Secret World Wildlife Rescue.

The Highbridge centre is opening its doors on October 24 and 25 to the public, where visitors can attend specialist talks, and get up close and personal to the bats.

Children will be given the opportunity to join in with activities and cakes will be available throughout the weekend.

Secret World has rescued over 100 bats so far in 2015.

These include common species like the pipistrelle, as well as rarer species like the horseshoe bat, the larger serotine bat and the long-eared bat.

Secret World animal carer Samantha A’Court has been looking after two long-eared bats who were rescued last week.

Samantha said: “One came to us after being found in an office in Yeovil “He was a bit underweight so he spent a few days at Secret World while we fed him and kept an eye on his weight.

“After a successful test flight he was happily released back into the wild a few days later.

“Another long-eared bat was found the next day, in an outdoor washbasin in Bridgwater.

“She was very dusty and covered in a sticky substance which suggests she may have become stuck on fly paper before ending up in the basin.

“She’s a good weight but is having difficulty flying because of this sticky substance, so we need to carefully clean her and make sure she can fly well again before we can release her.

“As bats are nocturnal they are kept in a darkened room while they are with us.”

Head of animal care, Laura Benfield, said: “We work with local bat groups to rehabilitate and release rescued bats and we’re delighted to welcome North Devon Bat Care and Avon Bat Care to Secret World to talk to visitors.”

Secret World will be open for free from 10am to 4pm on October 24 and 25.

There will be talks from North Devon Bat Care and from Avon Bat Care.

Samantha Pickering, from North Devon Bat Care, said: “The south west is home to no fewer than 17 of Britain’s 18 species of bat.

“Our traditional hedgerows, woodlands, rolling hills and cattle farming as well as our fantastic mine and cave systems make Devon and Somerset one of the last UK strongholds for bats.

“At Secret World’s open weekend, North Devon Bat Care will be coming along to talk to visitors about why our British bats are so important to us.”