A Ramsbottom woman has received a bizarre parcel through her door — a dead bat.
Fay Hancox found the bat, in a freezer bag inside an envelope, at around 6pm yesterday evening (March 7).
The unexpected arrival had Fay, 38, racking her brains for the identity of someone she may have wronged — but drew a blank.
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However, the unusual gift was not the work of witchcraft — it was a simple mix-up by a well-meaning concerned resident.
“I was sat in my lounge with my kids, and I heard my letterbox go,” the dental sales rep told the Manchester Evening News .
“I thought it was a charity bag, so I ignored it [until] I was cooking tea.
“It was an envelope, and it had a freezer bag with something black inside.
“I pierced the bag… and it stunk.
“It was a bat!”
Initially Fay, who’s lived in Ramsbottom for seven years, was confused by the unwelcome present, and set about trying to ascertain who could have given her such a gift.
She continued: “I rang my kids’ dad, who’s a police officer. He started laughing. He asked if I had upset someone — but I do not speak to anyone.
“I rang my landlord to see if he had enemies… we found out [who it was] next door through the ring doorbell.
“I do not recognise her at all. It turns out she had found this bat, and there’s a bat lady who lives on the street, who takes in poorly bats.
“She was posting it though to see why it had died.
“She’s got the wrong house, she’s mortified.”
Fay only worked out that the posting was an innocent mistake after sharing the footage from a neighbour's doorbell on Facebook, with residents deducing what went on.
However, after finding no sinister intent behind the package, Fay said she can ‘sleep again’, joking: “It’s just another normal day in Ramsbottom.”
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