A BAT escaped death after getting a fishing hook caught in its mouth.

The hook, which was almost the same size as the bat, had to be removed by a vet.

But despite its injuries, the bat was released only 24 hours after being rescued from a tree above a river in Wolsingham, in County Durham.

The bat was cared for by Weardale Animal Sanctuary, in nearby Stanhope, after a dog walker found it hanging the wrong way round in a tree.

Sally Rowley, from the sanctuary, said she believed the bat had been feeding by the river when it was caught by the hook.

"He's been one lucky bat," said Ms Rowley. "It's not just cats that have nine lives - it's clearly bats too.

"It had probably been hanging there overnight and being caught in the tree probably saved its life.

"It was wet, so it could have caught pneumonia, and it was also fortunate that it was in such a popular area or it might not have been found."

Once the hook had been removed, the bat made a quick recovery and was released back into the wild at about 3.15pm, yesterday.

Ms Rowley said: "It has been an amazing recovery.

"Somebody had obviously left the hook lying around after they had finished fishing.

"All kinds of animals, not only bats, but ducks and other animals can get stuck on these hooks, so we would ask that when people have finished fishing, they take the hooks home."