LASERS, bats and historic monuments are not elements you normally get in any news story – let alone all together.

Throw in some pothole repairs which have been delayed for nearly a year and you will begin to understand the saga of Folly Bridge, with county councillor John Tanner saying the council has been 'dragging its feet'.

Just over 12 months ago in December 2015, Mr Tanner asked his authority's head of highways, David Nimmo Smith, when the public could expect Folly Bridge, on Abingdon Road, Oxford, to be resurfaced.

Mr Nimmo Smith replied that his officers had discovered some stonework repairs needed to be carried out on the southern of the bridge's two arches, and then the road could be resurfaced.

But he warned Mr Tanner then: "Given the complexities of undertaking work over navigable water on a bridge that is both listed and a scheduled ancient monument it is anticipated that the work is unlikely to be able to commence before mid or late summer next financial year."

In April Mr Tanner checked that work was all set to go ahead and was again told that once the structural work was carried out in the summer the bridge would be entirely resurfaced.

Then they discovered the bats.

When officers investigated the underside of the bridge's southern arch they found a colony of 30 Daubenton's bats living there, which are protected.

Mr Tanner said the council staff had been 'dragging their feet for too long' and urged them to get the repairs done as soon as possible without harming the bats.

He said: "Anybody who cycles across Folly Bridge know it is full of potholes but I am also worried about the structure of the bridge.

"Obviously we have got to take care of the bat habitat but the county council is taking a very long time to put Folly Bridge into proper order.

"My worry is that the structure, particularly with heavy lorries going over it for the Westgate Centre redevelopment, could become dangerous, and the thought of closing Folly Bridge does not bear thinking about."

In the UK, all bats and their resting or breeding places are protected, meaning the council needed to get a licence from Natural England to temporarily rehome the winged mammals while repairing the bridge.

Daubenton's bats, Myotis daubentonii, are also known as water bats because they loves to live near rivers and streams where they feed.

They are classed as 'uncommon' throughout Britain by Natural England, although the Bat Conservation Trust says there was a 'significant' 2.1 per cent increase in numbers between 1999 and 2012, based on hibernation surveys.

Since the Oxford colony's discovery, the council has continued surveying the bridge, including a laser scan of the underside of the arch.

The authority is now in the process of applying to Natural England for a licence to temporarily rehome the bats.

It also needs permission from Historic England to work on the bridge and a sign-off from the Environment Agency, as the project could involve working on the river.

Then, and only then, might the potholes of Folly Bridge finally get repaired.