Swan rescued by 21 firefighters after four days stuck on an icy pond in Craiglockhart
A stranded swan was rescued by 21 firefighters after it spent four days stuck on an icy pond in Craiglockhart.
Local residents said the nine-month-old cygnet got into difficulty at Easter Craiglockhart Hill during the cold snap in Edinburgh last week.
It was initially monitored by officers from the Scottish SPCA when they were called out last Thursday, who were unable to reach it but threw bird seed on to the ice.
Eventually, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent 21 firefighters, two fire engines and water rescue resources to the scene.
Once captured, the bird was handed over to the Scottish SPCA who took it to the charity's Alloa rescue centre.
A spokesperson for the SFRS told the BBC: "Our response by trained and equipped firefighters can prevent members of the public putting themselves in danger by attempting to do their own rescue.
"As a humanitarian organisation our highly skilled crews answer a wide range of calls to help animals in distress across the country."
Jim Heath, Friends of Craiglockhart Hill chairman, told BBC Scotland News that residents in the area were "very upset" by the plight of the swan.
"There was a lot of concerned people worried about that cygnet," he said.
"It was flapping with its wings and its feet were trying to paddle but it could not get off the ice, it was horrible.
"It was too treacherous to get out to it and people were disturbed by it so the Scottish SPCA were called several times."
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