Lincolnshire Police officers save stricken cygnet which crashed onto A15 near Lincoln

Two unflappable Lincolnshire Police officers have been praised for sticking their necks out to rescue an injured young swan from a busy road.

The startled cygnet crash-landed on the A15 just outside Lincoln at about 1pm on Thursday, October 23, with PC Kirkwood and PC Haywood keeping traffic at bay from the bird.

The duo called in volunteers from Yorkshire Swan and Wildlife Rescue Hospital near Selby to help bring the juvenile to safety and nurse it back to full health.

Dan Sidley, the charity’s founder, told LincsOnline: “Fortunately, the cygnet had only superficial injuries and was held overnight in our care before being release back to the wild on a local waterway in Lincoln.

“Crash landing swans are a common occurrence, especially during the autumn months.

“Young swans are leaving the territories of their parents for the first time, and being inexperienced flyers often land in unusual places.

“Wet roads are a particular hazard, as to a swan in flight the shiny tarmac will look like a waterway, and the painted white lines mistaken as their own reflection from the sky.”

Swans don’t need to land on water and often touch down to graze in fields, but as with planes they need a long strip of unobstructed runway to take off again.

However, when things go wrong and they crash onto roads the most common injuries are fractured limbs and tarmac grazes or burns to their feet, all of which Dan and his team treat from their base in the village of Barlow.

“Our charity receives more than 6,000 calls per year from members of the public and organisations for our assistance in helping injured swans and other species of wildlife,” he said.

“We are very grateful for the assistance of caring officers from Lincolnshire Police, who temporarily stopped the busy traffic to enable the cygnet to be reached by our volunteer.

“Members of the public are able to support our work - including making a donation - by visiting our website at www.ysrh.org.uk.”

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