Meet the man who has spent 20 years transforming his garden into a haven - for bats.

Ross Baker, 66, has long been fascinated with the flying mammals - and sees himself as their PR representative as they get such a bad rap.

He has spent hours installing boxes, sculptures and a pond in his large garden in Weybridge, Surrey, so bats can pop in for a rest.

Though the grandfather-of-four welcomes all wildlife into his garden, he admits he isn't such a big fan of cats - which regularly injure bats by taking swipes at them.

Mr Baker and his partner Lynn Whitfield, 65, also visit people's homes to check up on roosting bats - where they're frequently asked: 'Which one of you is Batman, and which one's Robin?'.

"We just laugh it off," the chairman of the Surrey Bat Group said. "

Mr Baker admits that though bats rarely stay in the same place for too long, he and his partner Lynn, the secretary of the Surrey Bat Group, see their garden as a bat hotel or service station.

"We've always wanted a big garden," he said. "It was always our ambition to have a wildlife-friendly garden, though bats are our main interest. "

"The more wildlife-friendly you make the garden, the better it is for all animals - including bats."

Mr Baker estimates that he's actually saved money on his garden by letting it grow wild and not spending money on weed killers and pesticides.

The key to any wildlife or bat-friendly garden, he claims, is a large pond.

"The very first thing we did was put a pond in," Mr Baker said. "They're the best thing in a garden for encouraging insects, amphibians, foxes... "

"It encourages bats because of the insects coming off the pond, and they'll even swoop down for a drink if it's big enough. "

"It's a bit of a pit-stop on their way down to the River Wey - around half a kilometre from here, as the bat flies. "

"They stop off for a quick feed and a rest then carry on down."

The garden boasts three bat boxes - the best of which is located in a sycamore tree - where as many as six common and soprano pipistrelles have been known to rest.

However, Mr Baker says some visiting brown long-eared, serotine and noctule bats often fly over or through the bat garden.

"Bats are just so fascinating," he continued. "

"There's still so much we don't know about them; they're there at night but most of us don't realise they're there. "

"When I first started they had a really bad press; people were frightened of them but they had no reason to be. "

"I try to improve their PR by going to households and providing free advice on bats."

"Lynn and I are both volunteer bat rooster visitors, and people always say, 'Which one's Batman and which one's Robin?'"

Mr Baker says he and Lynn also have to bust false myths people have heard about bats, such as them being blind, that they get caught in people's hair and that they cause damage to houses.

"People think they're related to rodents, but they're not," Mr Baker added. "

He also advises those with bats around the homes of their greatest threat: domestic cats.

Mr Baker said: "The greatest threat to wildlife in gardens is from domestic cats."

"A lot of injured bats we get are as a result of being attacked by cats. "

"Keep cats in at night - at least around sunset when the bats are emerging."

"If anyone has any issues or concerns about bats, they can go to bats.org.uk."