TREVOR WEEKS: Troubled swans dominate our rescuers' week on the road

Centre Managers Chris Riddington and Katie Nunn Nash rushed down from WRAS’s hospital in Whitesmith.

When the team arrived they didn’t have any problems spotting the swan due to the amount of blood on her body.

The swan was not the easiest to catch and became very wary.

She went into the inlet river and Chris had to walk along the weir to capture her.

Using bread he was able to encourage the swan close enough to reach down and catch.

Due to a potential head injury the swan was caught without the use of a swan hook to avoid further damage.

Katie secured the swan back on dry land where she was then rushed up to WRAS hospital where I then assessed its condition.

There was blood coming from the eye and nose and quite a lot of swelling.

As the cause was unclear and there was potential for internal head trauma the swan was taken up to the Swan Sanctuary for specialist care and assessment.

We also took on a swan from Bexhill Wildlife Rescue tonight after they caught it in fields near Battle.

WRAS rescuers Kai and Gemma collected the swan and transported it back to WRAS were Katie and Chris assessed it.

Showing evidence of having crash landed, being slightly under weight but luckily nothing else seriously wrong the swan was kept in for a few days of care and attention before being released back to the wild.

We also had a report of a swan having been attacked by a dog as it walked along Wartling Road in Eastbourne.

Rescuer Tony rushed to the scene and was able to catch the swan thanks to a kind member of the public who stood and waited with the swan keeping it safe.

The swan was checked over at WRAS’s Casualty Centre at but returned to Princes Park as it has only a couple of minor injuries thought to have been caused by crash landing on the road.

Rescuer Tony and two units from the RSPCA have dealt with a swan at Brighton Marina at the weekend.

There were reports of an altercation between to rival nesting pairs of swans.

Tony and the RSPCA officers managed to catch the injured swan and it soon become clear the injuries were more then they first thought.

Sadly it seems that it may have also been caught by a dog.

When they assessed the injury it was clear that it would be a fatal injury and the RSPCA had to euthanise the swan straight away.

The other swan that was involved in the fight had injuries to its feet but these were luckily not serious and treated on site.

Our badger from Portslade is doing well and recovering. It was touch and go as to whether he would be strong enough to recover, but it now eating like a horse and his wounds are slowly healing over.

Rescuers caught a fox in a basement at South Street, Eastbourne.

The fox was admitted because it had a minor patch of mange on its body which is being treated before we release him again.

Kathy and I rushed to a road casualty tawny owl on Sunday night.

It was about an hours drive away over in Sandhurst just over the Kent border.

It was quite late at night and as WRAS is one of the few organisations which operates at night and nobody closer was available we ended up attending.

The owl was concussed and disorientated when we arrived but there were no visible signs of injury.

Back at WRAS the owl was bedded down and give first aid and is recovering well.