CHILDREN at a Hartlepool school came face-to-face with misunderstood creatures.

Pupils at Barnard Grove Primary School met Angus, Dave and Norman, three pipistrelle bats, when Hartlepool Borough Council's ecologist Ian Bond took them along to the school.

Mr Bond has been looking after the bats, which were found injured.

His visit was part of a series of talks he is giving to primary and secondary schools in Hartlepool.

He said: "Bats are wonderful and fascinating creatures, but are misunderstood due to their traditional link with vampires and ghostly goings on. I talked about the lives of British bats and dispelled some of the negative myths."