The owner of a building firm has been convicted of destroying protected bat roosts at a property he had earmarked for development.

John Maltby destroyed two habitats used by Pipistrelle bats at a bungalow he partly owns in Quorn.

Maltby, 65, appeared before Loughborough Magistrates' Court on Monday to admit destroying the roosts, which are protected by law to preserve the bat population.

Nicki Bennett, prosecuting, said Maltby had signed an agreement with a developer for the bungalow, number 55 Chaveney Road, giving them the option to buy it and build on the site.

The developer carried out an environmental bat survey on the property in September 2007.

Ms Bennett said: "Two small bat roosts were found under boarding at the front of the property.

"The bats were able to get under the slats to roost. During the course of the survey, seven Pipistrelle bats were seen to emerge from the southern edge of the house.

"It is believed this was a maternity roost."

Ms Bennett said Maltby, of Craddock Drive, Quorn, had been present at the time of the survey and was told about the bats.

She said another bat survey, carried out last September, found no sign of the bats or the roosts.

Ms Bennett said anyone wanting to remove a roost needed a licence from Natural England, but Maltby had not been granted one.

The police were called and Maltby, who also runs an undertaking firm, was questioned. He told officers he had removed the boarding to try to destroy wasps nests in the bungalow roof and had inadvertently destroyed the roosts.

Max Duddles, in mitigation, said it was the developer who had commissioned the survey and not passed on the results to Maltby.

Mr Duddles said: "It's an absolute offence to destroy a bat roost even if you don't know they are there.

"Mr Maltby is an upstanding member of the community who bitterly regrets being here."

The chairman of the bench, Elaine Goode, fined Maltby £1,500 and told him: "You are a businessman and you have been in the building industry for some time and were aware of the implications on that property of any bat roost. You were aware of their presence."

Maltby was also ordered to pay £70 in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

After the case, Leicestershire police wildlife officer Neil Hughes said: "Pipistrelles are the commonest bats but their numbers are in decline because of the destruction of their habitats. That is why roosts are protected by law."