Three police officers, a patrol car and a riot van rushed to apprehend roaming swan

A police force condemned as heavy handed for shooting dead an escaped cow is facing criticism again, after sending three officers, a patrol car and a riot van to tackle a lost swan. Police rushed to the scene to deal with the errant swan, which was spotted wandering along a road near student accomodation in Lincoln. Fearing it may disrupt traffic, two PCSOs in a patrol car and an officer in a riot van attended the scene to find the bird wandering in the carpark. Witnesses reported seeing them attempt to coax the swan to a more appropriate home for around half an hour, before eventually snaring it with a sheet and bundling it carefully into the back of the van. It has since been returned to a nearby river, where it is said to be unharmed.



Baffled bystanders have now said they had "no idea" why police became involved in the operation, claiming the bird seemed "perfectly happy" where it was. Matthew Knott, 18, a mechanical engineering student at Lincoln University said: “I was looking out of my window at around 1pm and I saw something that looked like a bird. Then a police car pulled up and two female PCSOs got out and sort of stared at the swan, it reared its head up so I saw it was a swan. A little while later a police riot van turned up and a male officer got out and started trying to shoo the swan to the open back of the van, which was never going to work.

“Eventually after about half-an-hour they got a sheet thing from the back of the van and caught it in that. It seemed like a bit of an over reaction, I have no idea how the police ended up being involved.” James Phillips, 34, who lives nearby said he couldn’t believe his eyes as the police vehicles screeched past with their blue lights flashing. He said: “I thought someone must have been attacked or something, when a marked car and van went into the accommodation. Then I saw they weren’t rushing out of the car so went to look what was going on and there they were, staring at this swan.



“They didn’t seem to know what to do with it really, they must have spent an hour hunting it down. In the end someone from the shop nearby came out with their coat to try and help catch the bird. It wasn’t doing anyone any harm and I wonder what crimes might have taken place while they were messing around with a swan.” A spokesperson for Lincolnshire Police said: “Police were called at around 1pm on Thursday following reports of an injured swan obstructing traffic on Ruston Way, Lincoln. So action was required. Officers attended the scene and returned the swan safely to the Brayford Pool. The swan was only slightly injured and RSPCA assistance was not required.”