MONMOUTH Action Group believes that bats could be roosting in the boughs of the Catalpa Tree.

The group claims that bats have been seen flying around the tree at dusk and speculate that they have made it their home.

The group's chairman Stephen Clarke, says that if the council goes ahead with its planned destruction of the Catalpa Tree in St James' Square it could be unlawful.

Mr Clarke says that Monmouthshire County Council should be considering the possibility that bats could be living in the tree especially when one of the specialists evaluating the condition of the tree reports that potential roost sites may be possible.

Stephen Clarke claims that a survey undertaken on a sunny afternoon in August would not have been the best time to look for bats.

Many bats roost in hollows or under the bark of trees and have different summer and winter roosts.

Bats are in decline in Britain and are protected by law and are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (as amended) Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations, 1994.

The council's tree expert Jim Keoch said: "The possibility of bats is a very valid point and is one that crossed my mind.

"We carried out a bat survey on the beech trees at Drybridge, Park but we didn't find any evidence that time.

"And we will now be under taking an investigation of the Catalpa Tree to check for bats."