Swan rescued from tracks after blocking trains

An injured swan had to be rescued after it made its way on to the tracks at a station in west London, causing hours of delays.

Rush-hour commuters had their journeys disrupted on Monday after the swan blocked two trains on the tracks at South Acton station.

Nicola Cilliers, 43, and her partner Steve Fraser called the RSPCA after they spotted the bird at around 5.30pm from the window of her flat overlooking the station.

She told the PA news agency: “At first, we thought it was rather funny seeing a swan on the tracks holding up a train and then two trains but it quickly turned to concern for his welfare.

“We then went down to investigate after he was shooed off the tracks by a Network Rail engineer.

“The engineer and another man stayed with us to guard the swan while we called several charities but to no avail.

“The fire brigade actually put me in touch with London Wildlife Protection and I got a call back from a lovely lady called Ann, a swan rescue volunteer, who was able to come out and take him.

“No-one else was able to come out and we would have been totally lost if the London Wildlife Protection had not helped because we could not have left him alone.”

Ms Cilliers documented the four-hour-long rescue mission as it unfolded, posting regular updates on Twitter.

Her final post at 10.43pm showed the swan, “safe and sound”, being looked after by the London Wildlife Protection.

“It’s always good to see a happy ending,” she said.

Network Rail has been contacted for comment.