Swans nesting by busy Somerset road given police assistance

The RSPCA said removing a nest requires a licence but could also result in the cygnets being abandoned

A family of swans nesting near a busy road have been given police assistance following a series of near-misses as drivers swerved to avoid them.

Traffic slowing measures have been put up by the nest on the A361 by Othery on the Somerset Levels.

Nearby café owner Claire Chedzoy said everyone applauded the assistance, calling it "fantastic".

The RSPCA said that all bird's nests and their eggs are protected by law while the nest is in use.

Near misses

On Tuesday, Ms Chedzoy and others "watched through our fingers" as a bus full of passengers was forced to swerve around the swans, narrowly avoiding hitting a car coming the other way.

"How they missed each other is beyond me," Ms Chedzoy said.

Police were called and turned up "within the hour", she added.

They were then joined by the RSPCA and a Highways team, which arrived with traffic lights.

"There were professionals working together for swans which was quite nice to see," Ms Chedzoy said.

The RSPCA said: "All birds' nests and their eggs are protected by law while the nest is in use"

Ms Chedzoy said that the swans come back "year after year" and there have never been any problems previously.

But she was told the swans were disturbed this year and moved the nest closer to the road.

"The swans are fiercely protecting their cygnets, which is what swans should do, but they've just been causing havoc because they are literally on the side of the road," she said.

"Any cars and vans that come up have to swerve out of their way and as we were watching all the near misses we thought something had to be done."

In a tweet, police asked drivers to take "extra care" when driving along that stretch of road

Ms Chedzoy said that unfortunately two cygnets had died, but that now with barriers and traffic lights, no-one can go near the swans now, which she said was "a relief".

"It was devastating before, hearing the screeching of brakes," she said.

"It was horrible… but now the traffic has slowed up. It seems to have worked."