It is a foreign visitor who might have arrived on the back of a lorry or was carried here by strong winds and is the first of its kind in Norfolk.

A Kuhl's pipistrelle bat has been found in the county and has caused excitement among specialist animal lovers.

The underweight and dehydrated male mammal was spotted on the floor between a fridge and cupboard in a business on an industrial estate in Great Yarmouth.

It is believed that it entered through an open door or window while it could have been looking for somewhere to roost and had got trapped.

Jane Harris, from the Norfolk and Norwich Bat Group charity, went to rescue the malnourished animal, whose home normally is in the Mediterranean, and confirmed it was the first time the species had been recorded here.

The bat was underweight and dehydrated when it was foundThe bat was underweight and dehydrated when it was found (Image: Norfolk & Norwich Bat Group) She said: "Kuhl's pipistrelle are common throughout the Mediterranean area but it has been expanding its range north and west for some years.

"There are a few records for southern England but these are believed to be mainly through transported bats, i.e. when they have gone into lorries by mistake or been tucked away in packaged items and loaded onto lorries.

"I once collected a dead pipistrelle which had been found in packaging unloaded from a lorry in Wymondham and it was a Chinese species.

"So this one might also have arrived in Great Yarmouth in a similar way, but given the close proximity to the sea, it is also possible that it was blown over by strong winds or flying towards the UK as part of natural range expansion.

"It's impossible to tell but if it arrived at the coast after a long flight, it would need to find a place to rest during the day."

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The bat was dehydrated and underweight when it was foundThe bat was dehydrated and underweight when it was found (Image: Norfolk and Norwich Bat Group) The Norfolk and Norwich Bat Group is a registered charity that works to help protect, conserve and raise awareness of bats in Norfolk. 

They are affiliated with the Bat Conservation Trust, the national voice for bats in Britain.

The Kuhl's pipistrelle is a species of vesper bat that live in large areas of North Africa, Southern Europe and West Asia.