RSPCA blames boater over injured swan

A SWAN injured by a narrowboat's propeller on the Trent & Mersey at Nantwich has caused the RSPCA tro warn boaters to take care.

The swan came too close to the boat, obviously begging for food, and was likely sucked in as it swam round too close to the rear and was caught in its propeller, Alan Tilbury reports.

Injuries so bad

Though the bird was not killed outright, after being taken to the RSPCA at Stapeley Grange in Nantwich it was discovered that its injuries were so bad it was put down.

A spokesman for the charity blamed the steerer stating:

“It is likely that whoever hit the swan may have known that they had run over something and would have seen it—yet they still didn’t stop to look and help."

A menace

Yet we all know that you cannot 'run over' a swan with a narrowboat, it was a case of the bird begging for food and getting far too close to the moving boat, that many boaters know are something of a menace.