Swans which were found smothered in oil have been saved from a polluted fishing lake in Wigan.
The RSPCA were called to rescue the five swans yesterday after a diesel spill on Wednesday at the ponds in Scot Lane, Martland Mill.
Officers using a water rescue boat were at the scene and were able to capture the affected swans.
They will now be transported to the RSPCAs Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich, Cheshire, where the time-consuming task of cleaning the swans will take place.
The Environment Agency said it is investigating the cause of the spillage while it said Wigan Council will clean up the pollution in due course.
RSPCA chiefs said that if oil is not removed from waterbirds it reduces the natural waterproofing in their plumage.
The charity said this then leaves them at risk of dying from hypothermia - so it is vital that they are treated quickly.
RSPCA Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) Jonathan Brooks said: We received a call on Wednesday that some swans appeared to be covered in oil from a spillage and I attended the scene.
It was dark but I could see five swans on the lake which were contaminated with oil.
Today (Thursday) we had a team of officers at the lake with a water rescue boat to capture the affected swans and we managed to get all five safely.
Mr Brooks said the swans will be cleaned carefully at the wildlife centre with washing up liquid and once they have recovered, they will be returned to the wild.
He said: The feathers damages the structure of them and also when they are preening they ingest the contaminants and this makes them ill.
When they are preening they are not eating so lose weight and become weak.
With the feathers not protecting them they can also become hypothermic - as they cant keep dry and warm so we will have fatalities if we dont intervene, which is why we have to act fast.
They will be taken to our wildlife centre where staff will clean the birds carefully with washing up liquid and once they have recovered they will be returned to the wild.
An Environment Agency spokesman said it will continue to monitor the site.
They said: We can confirm we have attended the ponds in Scot Lane, Martland Mill, due to reports of an oil spill.
Environment Agency teams were on site on Tuesday night to investigate the incident and returned to the site on Wednesday to take further water samples.
Measures have been put in place to minimise the risk of pollution to the River Douglas and its wildlife.
Wigan council have been made aware of the incident and they will clean up the pollution in due course.
We will continue to monitor the site and liaise with our partners at Wigan Council and the RSPCA.
They added: If you see something in your local watercourse that does not seem right you can report it to the incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.
A Wigan Council spokesman said: We are working with the Environment Agency to investigate the cause of the oil spillage and will clean-up the pollution within the fishing lake as a matter of priority.
We have also liaised with the RSPCA over the welfare of the swans and would like to thank the organisation for their swift response.
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Oil-covered swans rescued from Wigan lake - Wigan Today
