HS2 may be guilty of 'wildlife crime' by felling trees illegally, say lawyers

Reports of rare bat species in ancient woodland being cleared for high-speed rail line

Lawyers have warned HS2 it might be felling trees illegally, after an ecology report found evidence of one of the UK's rarest bat species in an area of ancient woodland being cleared for the high-speed rail line.

Legal firm Leigh Day has written to HS2 Ltd urging the company to halt activity at Jones' Hill wood, near Wendover in Buckinghamshire, as it does not have a licence to carry out work that could disturb rare barbastelle bat roosts. They say to continue doing so could be a criminal offence.