Crash-land swan stuck upside down in Northampton bridge

The swan found itself to be delayed before its next flight

A swan found itself in a tight spot when it apparently crash-landed on a disused railway bridge and became wedged - upside down - in a girder.

The bird was spotted hanging about 8ft (2.4m) above the ground under the bridge near Northampton town centre on Saturday evening.

The RSPCA was called and rescued it.

Luckily, the bridge was no longer in use and despite dangling around for some time, the charity said the swan was on track to make a good recovery.

RSPCA rescuer Rebecca Frost said: "I believe he had crash-landed on to the disused railway line overhead and then slipped through a gap, getting wedged between the beams holding the bridge up over the footpath and canal below.

"He'd struggled to get out of the gap so he tried to push himself down and out instead, but got stuck fast. It was very odd."

The swan was rescued from St James Mill Road East in the town.

"I was really worried about him as he'd been hanging upside down for at least three hours by the time we could get to him and figure out a way of helping," Ms Frost explained.

"I went up on to the track above and managed to carefully wriggle him out of the gap."

She said Network Rail and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service were also involved in freeing the swan.

Once back upright, they were able to see the bird "didn't appear to have any major injuries from the trauma, but he did seem underweight and quite weak so I took him for rehabilitation at a nearby wildlife hospital", Ms Frost said.

"Hopefully he'll be fit as a fiddle and back flying free again soon."