Swan gets into a flap on Corby school roof

A confused swan that had been blown off course by windy conditions has been rescued by firefighters and given sanctuary by a Wellingborough animal charity.

Firefighters from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue's Animal Rescue Team based at Wellingborough fire station were called at 10am today (Friday, September 25) to Brooke Weston Academy in Corby. They were assisted by a crew from Corby.

They used ladders to reach the confused creature from a flat roof of the building and handed it over to Animals In Need's Roy Marriott.

Roy said: "It was on the roof and the fire brigade went to get it using their ladders. They bagged it up. It's quite happy. It's a little bit skinny but fine.

"I'm guessing it was out flying and landed on the roof and didn't know what to do It's only a cygnet."

Firefighter Paul Sinclair, driver of the Wellingborough crew, said: ‘Over the years we have rescued a huge selection of animals, ranging from large ones like cattle and horses to smaller ones such as cats and iguanas.

"It is about assessing the situation and getting them out safely, both for us and them. We are all specialist trained and we also do animal husbandry which gets us into the mind of an animal which, when they are in a traumatic state, they are not their usual self, so it can be fight or flight. We go to a quite a few animal rescues per year.’

The swan was kept calm, warm and secure in the fire engine before it was collected by the Animals in Need charity, which is based in Little Irchester.

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