Light on bat plight

• YOU write that “improved lighting could upset the bats who thrive around the towpath” (Bats block towpath lighting after robberies, December 4). It’s a bit more complicated than that.
Bat populations have suffered severe declines during the past century, and now bats and their roosts have strong legal protection in the UK.
It is a criminal offence to deliberately disturb bats in a way that would significantly affect their local distribution or abundance, or affect their ability to survive, breed or rear young.
I trust that Islington Council and British Waterways will take the best advice before making any lighting changes which might affect these wonderful mammals.
TONY SAGGERS
N1