CREATURES of the night have been sending a team of conservators 'batty'.

A colony of bats has been discovered roosting in the chapel at Burnley's historic Towneley Hall.

But a survey has found that the bats have been using a 400-year-old oil painting hanging on the wall as their personal bat-hroom!

The historical canvas, called 'Christ and The Woman of Canaan', was painted in the 1600s by a follower of Ludovico Carraci.

It was a gift from Lady Alice O’Hagan, a member of the Towneley family, who sold the hall and it’s 62 acres of park land to Burnley Council in 1901.

Rebecca Hill, curator of fine art at the hall, said: “It’s one of the strangest things I’ve dealt with during a survey.

"The back of the canvass was soaked with bat urine but the picture was still intact.

“We couldn’t do anything about the bats but we didn’t want to move the painting either.

“Bats are a protected species and we love having them here.

"You can’t see them inside the chapel during the day.

"I’m not even sure exactly where their nest is, but at night they come out and fly around the chapel. It’s lovely to see.”

Rebecca added: "We felt that the painting should stay in the chapel and so conservationists have now covered the back with a special protective backing so it will be immune to bat damage."

The painting is now back on display in the chapel.

The survey was carried out with funding from the Edward Stocks Massey bequest and was due to finish today.

The conservationists also surveyed 40 high-value oil paintings and 15 watercolour paintings to make sure they were being properly maintained.