Volunteers have been praised for coming to the rescue of two cygnets that landed in a transport yard at Wixams.

The incident happened at the B&M distribution depot in Zander Way, where the swans had become stranded after landing with no room to spread their wings and fly.

The cygnets were in danger of becoming injured due to vehicles moving around the yard with rescuers explaining there wasn’t enough clear space for them to escape.

But help was quickly at hand after a member of staff at B&M called MK Swan Rescue who sent a team out to help rescue the birds before releasing them back on to water.

Two big plastic bags were used to transport the cygnets back to safety

placeholder image — Two big plastic bags were used to transport the cygnets back to safety

Allie Humphries, director, MK Swan Rescue, posted on the group’s FB page: “Two young swans are safely back where they belong after finding themselves in a very dangerous situation at a busy logistics depot in Wixams, Bedford.

“We received an urgent call from Ryan at the B&M distribution depot after the two youngsters had come down inside the operational transport yard. They appeared perfectly capable young birds, but once they had landed there simply wasn’t enough clear space for them to get themselves airborne again.

“That left them stranded in an environment designed for moving freight, not wildlife.”

She explained heavy goods vehicles and other operational vehicles were constantly moving around the yard, posing a risk the swans could be struck by a vehicle.

All's well that end's well - Allie Humphries and volunteer Christine Davies pictured with B&M staff members

"B&M staff had contained them in a corner of the yard but this was absolutely not somewhere they could safely be left in the hope that they would eventually work things out for themselves,” added Allie

“Thankfully both youngsters were safely secured, and with no obvious reason for them to remain in care, we took them back to Milton Keynes and released them on to Willen Lake.

“They were very, very happy to see water and looked completely at home.

"Watching them suddenly have all that open water in front of them was a lovely end to what could very easily have been a very different story.”

The young swans got into difficulty after leaving their parents, which is normal during fledgling season, when they have to fend for themselves

The Swan Rescue team extended a huge thank you to Ryan and the team at B&M for recognising that the cygnets were in trouble and calling for help rather than leaving them to fend for themselves.

Added Allie: "These situations can become dangerous incredibly quickly, particularly somewhere with that volume of large vehicle movements, and that call meant we could get to them before anything happened.”

The MK Swan Centre rescue work is entirely dependent on volunteers and people who support the group. Allie set up the centre two years ago but has been rescuing birds for about 15 years. This year alone the centre has had 477 call-outs, to rescue mostly swans, but other birds including ducks and geese.

Donate here if you would like to support the group or donate via its Amazon wish-list.

Callouts can happen with very little notice and the work is not always easy, says Allie, but anyone interested in becoming part of the rescue team should email [email protected].