Gill Lewis, of WeCare Wildlife Rescue, in Brantham, issues warning after family of swans rehomed following journey from Haughley New Street to Great Finborough which saw five cygnets killed

An animal expert has issued a warning over the welfare of swans after an incident near Stowmarket which saw a family rescued and several cygnets die.

Gill Lewis, who runs WeCare Wildlife Rescue, in Brantham, has spoken out after being called to save the swans, which were spotted by residents walking on the road in Haughley New Street.

The flock of two swans and eight cygnets journeyed to the Tothill roundabout, where they were ushered off the road by police and drivers on July 7, before making their way to a livery in Great Finborough, where the owner kept them on his pond by feeding them.

By the time the flock were at the livery, following the five-mile journey from Haughley New Street to Great Finbourough, five of the cygnets had died.

Ms Lewis, 60, arranged for the five rescued animals to be taken to one of her regular rescue partners at The Waterfowl Sanctuary, in Godmanchester, where they remain.

She said the situation was devastating.

Ms Lewis, who has run WeCare as a volunteer since 2016, said she had seen a video clip of the swans walking down the road and if people had called them, rather than putting up social media posts, she could have intervened sooner.

“Then to get a call three days later, to know they’d walked that distance and lost so many was devastating as it didn’t need to happen,” she said.

Ms Lewis said, if a similar situation was to arise, the first point of call for people should be to call a rescue, even if just to ask for advice. As swans are very territorial, she said, coaxing the birds into a body of water could be worse for them.

“We will explain what to do next or come out ourselves – you have to understand the behaviour of the animal and why they’re doing what they’re doing,” she added.

Sheree Hammond followed the journey of the swans and, after they settled on the pond, called Ms Lewis.

Ms Hammond and a friend tried to find some of the injured cygnets in Haughley, to no avail.

She said: “It was sad, it just seemed like everyone hoped someone else would do something.

“People on Facebook seemed unsure what to do about swans, had no idea of their protected status, and some even thought they were geese.”

A police spokesperson confirmed they were called to reports of two adult swans and eight cygnets obstructing traffic in Elmswell Road, Wetherden and later Haughley New Street on July 7.

Officers attended and confirmed the flock had moved to a path and were no longer in the road, the spokesperson added.

Ms Lewis works full time as a dog trainer and cares for her daughter.

Of the rescue, she said it was important to get the adult swans first as capturing the cygnets to start with could cause them to fly off and leave the babies orphaned.

The male adult was already on land and was captured first, with the female then coaxed out of the water with food.

It was the three cygnets which presented the challenge as, having seen their parents captured, parked themselves in the middle of the pond and would not budge.

Ms Lewis, waist deep in the pond water, then used a rope across the lake to slowly push the babies towards the bank and captured them there, a process which took several hours.

The Waterfowl Sanctuary confirmed the flock are alive and well.

Those who wish to donate to WeCare can do so here, while nearby rescues can be found at helpwildlife.co.uk.