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Swan sparks hours of delays for London commuters after blocking rush-hour trains

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

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 (Nicola Cilliers/PA)

Lottie Kilraine|Lily Waddell25 January 2022

An injured swan caused hours of delays for commuters when the bird made its way on to the tracks at a station in west London.

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

It took four hours for the swan to be rescued from the tracks which sparked delays for people travelling around London.

An injured swan had to be rescued after it fell onto the tracks at a West London station, causing hours of delays. (Nicola Cilliers/PA)

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 said: “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 on Twitter as it unfolded.

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.

A Network Rail spokesperson said on Tuesday: “Yesterday evening we were alerted to a report of an injured swan on the line at South Acton station, resulting in delays between Willesden Junction and Richmond.

“Response staff arrived on site to safely remove the swan, who is now in the care of the London Wildlife Protection.

“Delays caused by birds are not uncommon in Britain and while we appreciate delays are frustrating for passengers, it is important we play our part in protecting Britain’s bird species.