Roy goes batty
Roy Cropper may be a little bit odd, but he's not one to let a wrong go un-righted, so when he discovers a protected bat species roosting at the site of the new flats, Roy and property developer Tony Gordon are set to butt-heads.
The background:
Becky began working for Roy and Hayley at Roys Rolls and after a rocky start involving missing money, a "borrowed" car, and a fire, she proved herself to be a loyal and hard working employee.
Becky helped Hayley to track down her son Christian, and after house sitting for Roy when he was away visiting Hayley in Africa, Becky moved in to "co-habit" in Roy's flat.
However living together had some awkward moments for this odd couple, as they struggled to adjust to each other's habits. Roy is especially uncomfortable with Becky flirting with a builder working on the new flats, and he's not pleased when he returns home to find Becky entertaining this "gentleman" caller.
The building may have increased business for the café (causing Roy to take on Ken Barlow part-time) but there has also been an increase in traffic - including a van than nearly ran over Amy Barlow.
The story:
When Roy finds what looks like bat droppings at the building site he's intrigued and takes a sample home for closer inspection. Becky's not too happy about Roy probing bat-poo on the kitchen table, but Roy is adamant that the bats are a protected species and need looking out for.
Meanwhile Bill is worried that the bat find might hold up the building work and cost him and Jason their jobs. Bill alerts Tony who goes to speak to Roy.
Tony tells Roy he'll look into it, but asks Roy to keep it quiet. Roy, thinking Tony is being helpful, tells him he's already phoned the authorities and gives Tony the number. Becky's no friend of the bat, but delights in seeing Tony squirm.
Feeling fobbed off by Tony, Roy demands a stop to the work and officially reports the bats to the environmental agency.
Tony tells Bill and Jason that they stand to lose their contract if the bats put the build on hold. He puts pressure on Jason to get rid of the bats before the council investigates, and reluctantly Jason agrees to smoke out the critters. All goes smoothly, but as he returns home he bumps into Roy.
Bill's nervous when the inspector arrives, but relieved when he hears that no bats were found and the work can continue. Roy however is outraged and suspecting foul play he confronts Tony. Roy's sit-in is short lived however and Bill and Jason escort him off the building site. Roy bans Jason from the cafe and Tony responds by banning all the builders.
As Roy continues to assert that the bats have been tampered with Jason's protests serve only to inculpate himself. Jason resolves to say nothing more, but Bill is furious with Jason for letting Tony manipulate him into doing something illegal.
Roy meanwhile will not be detered. Fuming he devises a plan and request's Ken help in executing it. Becky eagerly offers to help and the three of them set off. Roy unveils their secret weapon - Hayley's car, a pristince Morris traveller. With Ken at the wheel Roy directs Ken to park the car near the entrance to the building site. According to Roy's calculations, the car is legally parked but will block trucks from accessing the site.
The car causes disruption at the site, but Roy maintains that it is legally parked, that he cannot move it, and Hayley is in Africa. The workers become infuriated at the car is removed but then reappears. As the builder vent their anger at Roy, Becky and Jerry stand up for him; but as Roy continues to demand an apology from Tony, Jerry warns Roy that the builders won't take much more.
Tony tries to reason with Roy, but stops short of admitting that
he interfered with the bats. He offers to make a donation to
charity and in return Roy says the car will no longer be a
problem.
