Swan blinded in one eye with steel ball bearing

The bird was most probably attacked on Saturday, according to its rescuer

A swan has been blinded in one eye after it was shot in the head with a 10mm (0.4in) steel ball bearing in a "disgusting" attack.

The male bird was rescued on Monday by Gordon Porter from the Godmanchester-based Waterfowl Sanctuary, after it was spotted on the River Cam near Cambridge.

The ball bearing is so deeply imbedded in the bird's skull that Mr Porter thinks surgery to remove it "may cause more damage".

He said: "The poor swan fortunately is doing very well and will live his life at the sanctuary now that he has lost an eye."

The ball bearing is very close to its brain, making surgery to remove the shot very risky

The bird was initially spotted at Baits Bite Lock, just north of Cambridge, on Sunday.

Mr Porter said: "I did comment, 'I don't like that eye', but it was too far away to see if it was just swollen - or injured."

The next day, he realised the swan, which is part of a family, had been seriously harmed in a catapult attack.

"This family of swans will have approached [the attacker] for food, and they will have shot them at close range - it's disgusting," he said.

Swans raise their young as co-parents, so the the rescue centre brought the entire family back to its 5.5 acre (2.2 hectare) Godmanchester base, near Huntingdon.

Despite its injury, the swan is still functioning, and has been rescued with the rest of its family

"He can't be returned to the river - he'll crash into something flying and he can't get out of the way from rowers," said Mr Porter.

"He'll have daily eye dressing changes with pain relief and considerations are being made for him to receive surgery at the weekend."

The rest of the family will be able to wander freely beyond the rescue centre once they are ready.

Mr Porter added the catapult used to attack the swan was different from the ones used by anglers to launch grain or maggots into the water.

"This sort of catapult is designed to shoot ball bearings with accuracy," he said.