This is much to the relief of residents, including 87-year-old mother-of-12 Ethel Sorensen.

Maitland City Council concluded pruning 23 trees on Friday that shifted a great deal of the bats into two of her trees.

Thankfully for her the numbers were greatly reduced on Saturday. On Sunday they were gone.

“They’ve been here the past seven years at least,” Mrs Sorensen said. “I’m so relieved they’re gone.”

In recent years Mrs Sorensen, like many The Avenue residents, has lived with windows closed against the smell and noise. 

Few, however, have faced an ordeal tougher than Mrs Sorensen.

All but housebound, the Danish immigrant spends her days reading newspapers and listening to talkback radio from her dining table, which overlooks the playground that was bat central.

“You couldn’t have the windows open for the smell,” Mrs Sorensen said. “The smell, the noise – people were sleeping with ear plugs in.”

The Office of Environment and Heritage issued council a license to prune and lop the trees on August 20, 2012 but was unable to act at that time because the bats were pregnant.

June was the beginning of a 92-day window of opportunity when any works would have the least impact on bats and marked the start of council’s night works to cut the trees.

Cr Loretta Baker met with Mrs Sorensen on Saturday to discuss having two trees in her backyard cut down to make sure the bats do not return.

A council spokeswoman said the trees were not cut down as part of the works last week because they were on private land.

It is not known where the bats have shifted or how likely their return.

Mrs Sorensen lives with her youngest daughter, Katharina, and her husband, Paul.