Peterborough swan saved after being shot with catapult

The ball bearing was wedged in the side of the swan's face

A swan had to have a large ball bearing removed from its face after it was shot with a catapult.

The bird was found at Ferry Meadows nature reserve in Peterborough last month in "a large amount of discomfort" and taken to an RSPCA hospital.

She was initially too weak for surgery, but has now had the ball removed.

"It's so sad to think that this poor swan had to suffer as a result of an injury which was most likely caused deliberately," the charity said.

The female mute swan's face was badly swollen when the RSPCA arrived at the nature reserve, as the ball bearing was wedged in her cheek.

The ball bearing could clearly be seen lodged in the swan's face

She was taken to the RSPCA's East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk where X-rays revealed "a ball bearing, likely to have been fired from a catapult - walled off in the side of her face".

Centre manager Alison Charles said: "She was very weak when she arrived at the centre, so we needed to give her time to build up her strength before we carried out the surgery,"

The swan would have been in pain and was very weak, the RSPCA said

"The surgery went well and the ball bearing was removed and she's already looking a little brighter.

"She's on antibiotics and hopefully will be strong enough to recover. She's likely to be with us for a number of weeks, though."

"We want to highlight this so that people can keep an eye out for wildlife in the area, although we hope that this was an isolated incident."

Swans and all wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, so the RSPCA is working with police to try to find the person who shot the swan.