Elderly woman ‘so lucky’ after swan crashes through bathroom window in Nottinghamshire

The bird was rushed to a nearby vet and needed dozens of stitches 
The swan smashed through a double-glazed window
RSPCA
April Roach @aprilroach2818 January 2021

A swan smashed through an elderly woman’s double-glazed window just moments after she left the room.

The RSPCA said the bird needed dozens of stitches after it flew into the bathroom window of the woman’s chalet home in Shamrock Lodge, Barton in Fabis, Nottinghamshire, at around 8am on Monday.

She heard a loud crash, found her bathroom window shattered and the wounded bird on the floor.

The female swan ended up cut and dazed after the incident and was taken to a nearby vet’s where she spent more than an hour in surgery.

Animal rescue inspector Keith Ellis said in all his 40 years as an RSPCA inspector, he has never seen a swan crash through a window.

“I have seen them crash-land on to busy roads thinking they are rivers but nothing like this. It is so bizarre,” said Mr Ellis.

The swan has since been transferred to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, near Nantwich, Cheshire, for further treatment and will be rehabilitated until she is healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

The swan was in surgery for more than an hour after its crash
RSPCA

Mr Ellis was sent to the scene to collect the injured animal before she was taken for emergency veterinary treatment.

He said: “The lady was so lucky when this happened as she had just been in the bathroom.

“Had she still been there when this swan crashed through the window, I am sure the glass shattering and the impact of the bird hitting her would have caused serious injury – or even worse.

“I think the swan was looking and flying to the nearby River Trent and must have misjudged the direction. It was also quite windy at the time, which may have blown her off course.

“She was a bit dazed when I went to collect her and had lost a lot of blood but we managed to get her to the vets quickly and she spent an hour in surgery having dozens of stitches to a wound under her wing.

“She will receive further treatment at Stapeley Grange and hopefully she will soon be able to return to the wild.”

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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