Women’s 16-week battle to protect swan

THE full story has emerged of how two Warrington women spent every night for 16 weeks protecting a swan which had lost its mate and was being attacked by other swans.
Gaynor Collins snd Sharon Rice, from Stockton Heath, mounted guard between 10pm and 4am every night at local beauty spot Ackers Pit to make sure the female swan – nicknamed “Girlie” – survived.
They sought help from the RSPCA – who told them they were interfering with nature – and the RSPB without success.
In the end, Gaynor even telephoned Buckingham Palace, who put her in touch with the charity Swan Lifeline.
She said: “I ‘phoned the Palace because swans are supposed to be the Queen’s birds. They, at least, helped us by putting us in touch with the charity.
“Swan Lifeline came and took the swan. We paid for their petrol for the journey.”
“Girlie” has now been re-homed at Fort Belvedere in Windsor Great Park, Surrey.
She lost her mate and seven eggs following a raid by vandals on her nest at Ackers Pit.
After the incident, Gaynor and Sharon noticed that Girlie was not being accepted by another pair of swans on the lake.
Whenever she tried to enter the water, the other swans drove her away.
Gaynor said: “We started going down at night with buckets. We threw water at the other two swans to keep them away from Girlie.
“She would then get in the water while we kept the other swans away. In the end, we are sure she got to know us. She would come right up to us.
“We kept it up for 16 weeks, but we could not have kept it up for much longer, so we were really pleased when Swan Lifeline came to the rescue.
“We have kept in touch with them ever since to see how she was going on and we are really pleased she has been found a new home.”
The story has been recorded by local photographer Darren Moston and his wife, Carolyn, who have been taking pictures of swans at Ackers Pit for years.
They have also kept in touch with Swan Lifeline to follow Girlie’s progress.
Darren said: “She has now found another mate and they have been been rehomed at Fort Belvedere in Windsor Great Park in Surrey.
“They don’t normally home them like this and leave them to pair off but due to the horrible and painful events Girlie had been through, they decided to take her somewhere safe.”
No-one knows what happened to Girlie’s mate or her eggs