Rare bat heading west.

ONE of the rarest bats in Britain has turned up more than 60 miles west of where it has previously been found, the National Trust has said.

The male Bechstein's bat was discovered on the Trust's Colby estate, in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.

The nearest site at which the animal, which is normally resident in southern England, had previously been recorded, was in the Brecon Beacons.

The bat was captured by a university researcher looking for another rare British bat, the barbastelle, in the area.

David Bullock, NT head of nature conservation, said: "The bat either made an incredibly long journey from the Forest of Dean or from Herefordshire, or else there are other roosting sites waiting to be discovered in Pembrokeshire."