KILDARE: Mid-flight crash swan rescued from town centre car park

A locally-based animal rescue group came to the aid of a young injured swan in Naas this evening.

The bird, whose partially brown colouring suggested that it is less than 18 months old, came to grief in a car park in the town shortly before 5pm.

It is likely that it was on its way to the lakes area close to Naas Hospital when it collided with an overhead utility wire before crashing to the tarmacadam surface of the car park opposite the Supervalu store between Fairgreen Street and The Alley.

Staff at the Evertech IT sales and repair shop were first to react to the incident and contacted the gardaí, who in turn referred the matter to the wildlife authorities.

In the meantime the staff provided some water for the swan which was bleeding from its beak following the impact and sat for more than an hour in the centre of the car park.

Two wildlife rescue volunteers arrived on the scene and ensured that passing traffic did not present a further threat to the swan.