‘Disgusted’ mum buries dead swan in her garden

Paula West (46) was walking along a footpath at the end of Netherfield Court in Eastwood to Parkgate Shopping Park.

She said she spotted the swan under a footbridge near the railway lines at the back of the retail park while walking with her daughter Courtney at around 10.50am on Sunday.

Ms West, of Coleridge Road, Eastwood, said: “I brought the swan back to my house and made a few phone calls to try and get someone to collect it.

“It is the Queen’s animal at the end of the day and I couldn’t just leave it there.”

Ms West said she had traced the swan’s owner using a tag on its leg and found it was eight years old and originally from Bedford.

She said: “What has happened to the swan is animal cruelty and I can’t get over it. I just think it’s disgusting.

“I tried contacting everybody to get this sorted and I was just told to bury it.”

Ms West dug a grave for it in her garden and made a headstone for it out of wood.

She said she contacted the RSPCA but ended up dealing with the swan’s body herself.

Anyone with information about how the swan died should contact the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.

People can also report incidents of animal cruelty on the RSPCA website at www.rspca.org.uk.