A FEW bats are threatening to take over and close a lovely Saxon church after damaging it for years.

The lasting damage, and the serious health fears the bats have created, could be contained, if a tiny gap in the church door was sealed with a piece of rubber.

In law, troublesome bats, common or rare, can be removed from a dwelling - but not from a house of God, says local Tory MP John Greenway. He has been called in to explore ways of amending the law to save the church being closed.

Even DIY with a piece of rubber requires special licence from DEFRA, approved by EU bureacrats, because bats are an endangered species. The small but active congregation of St Hilda's, in the Vale of Ellerburn, near Thornton-le-Dale, says: "We are now the endangered species."

Many common bats enter St Hilda's via the roof, where they stay and are no real problem.

"We are happy to share our church with them," says John Grimble, 79, who was appointed "church batman" to deal with the problem. He says: "If we can't find a solution, we will be forced to lock up this beautiful church where folk have worshipped for more than a thousand years."

The problem is the rare natterer's bats, which insist on coming in through tiny gaps in the doorway.

Mr Grimble says: "The problem could be solved in minutes with a bit of rubber costing a few pence - a simple solution one would think. It would prevent the natterer's (bats) squeezing through the door and frame.

"But the strict laws, made by the Britsh and EU officials to protect bats, forbid sealing any entrance point, even one measuring a few centimetres. Experts have identified at least seven natterer's bats in St Hilda's, but admit there may be as many as 30 females causing mess and damage - and "creating a most unusual situation".

Claire Galliford, wife of retired bishop David Galliford, a former chaplain to the Queen, went down with severe food poisoning a few days after a service at St Hilda's. It lasted a fortnight, and was so serious her doctor called in local environmental health officials to investigate. No cause was found, because at the time Mrs Galliford did not relate it to the church of bats.

"I now believe the probable cause was contact with bat droppings in St Hilda's," she says. "We cannot think of any other explanation. The illness has an incubation period of eight days, which matches exactly the Sunday I was at the church."

She said she no longer attends St Hilda's because of the severity of her illness. "This is a beautiful Saxon church and I love it, but I can't take the risk until a solution is found to the bat problem," she said. Since her illness, churchgoers are reminded to wash their hands before eating and many wash their clothing after a service.

Bishop Galliford said: "Clearly, the law is unfair. It gives bats far more rights than humans - and no one can accept this when it threatens to drive people out of a church and close it."

Attendance at services has fallen because of fears about the bats and the health risk. Young mothers no longer come with their children.

Three elderly voluntary cleaning ladies, two in their 80th year, are threatening to down mops and brushes which would hasten closure.

Mrs Rachel Grimble, 79, says: "The church needs a thorough clean half an hour before the service. It is now impossible for us to clear up the mess in that time. It is also impossible to polish out the bat urine stains which are rotting the woodwork on the altar, font, pulpit, choir stalls and pews."

Experts have identified four species living in St Hilda's. They arrive in Ellerburn from March to breed and rear their young before leaving in November to hibernate in caves not far away.

Ashley Burgess, who was christened at St Hilda's, says the church has offered various compromises to English Nature.

"We have even put up scaffolding costing £500 a month to show the bat experts how we could create easier entry into the roof for all the bats. The law should recognise churches are built for human beings to worship in, not for bats to destroy."

Worshippers now plan to seek support from the Archbishop of York. English Nature has called in leading bat experts, including John Drewett. He says they have offered solutions - like the church "having covers made for the furniture within the church which could be removed before service".

He says: "We don't want to see the church abandoned. But each species of bat has its individual requirements. The natterer's bat's access point is the door. If this was denied, they could be endangered."

He said that sealing the church door with rubber "would require a licence from DEFRA, which would also have to be approved by the EU".

He has called a meeting of experts and churchgoers next month to consider any proposals that might be offered.

John Grimble said "This could go on forever, costing a great deal of time and money - when a bit of rubber seems the only sensible answer."

Updated: 10:27 Wednesday, April 21, 2004