Mr Gaeta said the bats hit three rows of cherries that had not been netted because they had light loads of fruit.

“They smashed them,” he said. “There were cherries all over the ground. I came home and saw them flying about. They are eating them green, they are pretty destructive.”

Mr Gaeta said he would be putting netting over his main orchard.

“It’s only a handful of cherries now but if they start hitting the big trees where there’s 300kg per tree I’ve got to start shooing them away.”

Mr Gaeta, who successfully sought a licence to shoot 50 bats two years ago, said he would be re-applying to National Parks for another licence to cull 50 bats.

Neighbouring orchardists said they would check their crops for bat damage.

Grey-headed flying foxes have been spotted in Cook Park, on Ploughmans Lane and flying across Woodward Street this week.