A SWAN had to be rescued from the middle of a road and taken to an animal sanctuary on Monday because it was too emaciated to move.

Melanie James of Silloth rescued one of the birds as it was starved and unable to move from the middle of a road in Whitehaven’s harbour.

She said: “It was so hungry and so under-weight that it put up no fight at all.”

Melanie added that the birds are in need of help.

She said: “This is the ninth in about six months. It is such a shame because they are such a majestic animal.”

A swan was also found in need of help in November as it appeared to have been spooked by fireworks causing it to be injured.

And she added that the rescue team are regularly rescuing birds.

“It is birds in general at the minute, we have had robins that have come in because they have been caught in rat traps.”

The rescued bird has recovered thanks to the care of the sanctuary.

Melanie said: “In a couple of days, she’ll have her strength back. I keep them in for a couple of days and then I move them onto the pond.

“Then they get the option to stay or they can fly away” she said.

Some of the birds live at the sanctuary permanently, she said: “We’ve been trying to get a mate for a male but you can’t just move them from one sanctuary to another with them being protected.”

The Ani-Mel Haven animal sanctuary is based at Silloth on Solway, it takes in creatures of all kinds.

Melanie hit national headlines in December 2019 with a viral campaign to rescue 3,000 hens from the slaughterhouse.