BLOODY HELL! Batty vampire bats sucking OUR blood!

Scientists have rung alarm bells after vampire bat species turned its blood-letting attention to us mere mortals (here soundtracked by Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell and, admittedly unscientifically, accompanied by "Are You a Vampire?" quiz.

Scientists in Brazil have discovered disease-carrying hairy-legged vampire bats, previously thought to mostly dine on birds, have resorted to feeding on human flesh, sparking fears the rabies-carrying creatures could cause increased disease.

Enrico Bernard from Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife was understandingly “quite surprised” to find traces of human blood in bat poo at a Catimbau National Park colony.

He believes such sneaky creatures have been feasting on campers and others sleeping 'neath the stars, perhaps driven by deforestation of natural hunting grounds.

Brazilian experts are currently investigating when and where great outdoors folk are being bitten in order to assess this scary vampiric increase. You can count on it!