Firefighters helped an animal rescue officer catch an injured swan from the middle of a Suffolk fishing lake today.

A crew from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service was called to Harleston by the RSPCA after the hurt bird persisted to “evade capture”.

The firefighters used a boat to take the officer out into the lake so she could seize the swan.

A RSPCA spokeswoman said: “An RSPCA officer was alerted to the injured swan on Thursday and made several attempts to rescue the bird, but was unable to catch it as it kept moving to the centre of the lake. She returned the next day but the swan continued to evade capture so our officer called the fire service who used a rescue boat to take our officer to the middle of the lake where they managed to catch the injured bird.

“We are extremely grateful to the fire service for their help in enabling us to rescue this poorly bird who has now been taken to our East Winch Wildlife Centre for assessment.”