THE Redditch Standard’s photographer was captured in front of the lens yesterday morning (Thursday) when he came to the aid of a cygnet that had wandered onto the A46 toward Alcester.
The young swan was sat in the middle of the highway when Marcus Mingins spotted him and came running – literally – to the rescue.
The photographer was heading into Redditch to work at around 8.30am when he noticed cars and lorries swerving to avoid something.
“At first I thought it was a white bag but as I got closer I realised it was a swan,” he said. “I pulled over into a layby then ran as fast as I could up the hard shoulder to get to him.”
A kindly passer-by, Ian Logan, also pulled over and together the pair where able to stop the flow of traffic and bring the young bird to safety.
“At first we tried to usher the swan over to the barrier at the side of highway but he wasn’t having it and soon sat back down so I ran to get my coat to cover him.”
Once wrapped up in Marcus’ parka, the swan seemed to calm down and was able to be picked up by Marcus and Ian and taken to safety onto a grass verge.
“We just sat stroking him until the police arrived – he seemed quite calm,” Marcus added.
The swan is currently in the care of Vale Wildlife Hospital & Rehabilitation Centre, near Tewkesbury, where he is being assessed.
A spokesman said: “He arrived here safely, he is fairly weak so is on steroids but we cannot see any obvious major injuries.”
Swans often land on stretches on road during the winter, mistaking them for lakes.
