Stuck swan freed from frozen canal

A young swan that had become trapped in ice has been rescued by the RSPCA.

The stricken bird was spotted by a dog walker on the frozen Leeds and Liverpool Canal near Riley Green, Lancashire, on Thursday.

Using a pole from the side of the bank, RSPCA inspector Carl Larsson was able to break the ice, which was completely surrounding the swan, before helping the bird to the side.

"The bird was completely unable to move and would have been easy prey for predators," he said.

The officer said: "It's not always an emergency when water birds get stuck because if they're healthy they should have enough fat reserves to survive.

"However on this occasion I decided it was best to move the cygnet because I knew there was a large unfrozen pool of water below the M65 motorway bridge, about 200 metres along.

"There were some grey feathers indicating the swan was young in age, probably old enough to go it alone, but maybe a little bit inexperienced in weather conditions like this."

The charity said it received over 80 calls about incidents relating to the cold weather - mainly involving concerns about water birds in ice - which its officers attended, gave the public advice about or worked with other organisations to resolve.

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