A CONFUSED animal lover raised the alarm with a charity after finding an injured bat which turned out to be plastic. 

The RSPCA responded to the report of an injured bat on a bin, only to find it was a plastic toy.

The welfare charity received a call to its animal helpline on Sunday, March 19 stating that an injured bat was stuck on a bin in the caller’s garden, in Eaglesham. 

Inspector Stacey Erwin said: “The caller looked down from her window and saw a lifeless looking bat on her bin.

“I went to check on it and expected to give advice on a grounded bat or maybe torn wings but discovered it was a plastic bat. The caller had realised shortly before I arrived but it was too late to cancel.

“This job can be very tough as we deal with severely injured animals on a daily basis, so it’s quite nice when something like this makes us smile.”

This isn’t the first time the RSPCA has experienced a case of mistaken identity. 

Stacey said: “Last year one of my colleagues responded to a report of a distressed bird stuck on a roof but when she arrived she discovered the bird was in fact a shoe.

“Although incidents like these are false alarms, it’s always better to be safe than sorry and we’d encourage anyone with concerns about an animal to call our helpline on 03000 999 999.”