In the UK a small number of bats carry rabies caused by European Bat Lyssaviruses.
In the uk the bat is a protected species"

Wow. Nothing like a bit of partial information or misinformation, is there? Hardly any UK bats have ever been found to carry rabies, and the type of rabies in bats is not the same thing as dog rabies. There is NO risk of contracting rabies from a UK bat unless you go out of your way to capture and handle a bat, and even if you were daft enough to do that the chances of its being an infected one are minimal. I have bats in my roof and garden and have had them in my bedroom more than once. The chances of my catching rabies are nil. No bat in this country would ever show unprovoked aggression to humans as they are extremely timid. Finally, as for "the bat" being "a protected species," there are actually 18 species of bats in the UK.