Confused ‘ego-bruised’ swan brings four-lane motorway to standstill

Motorway traffic on the M1 near Northampton was brought to a complete standstill after a confused swan wandered onto the four-lane carriageway.

The bird, which caused significant disruption in the East Midlands, was eventually rescued. CCTV footage captured the moment vehicles halted to avoid hitting the animal.

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The swan moved to the verge before heading back towards the path of oncoming traffic.

Two National Highways traffic officers were dispatched from the nearby Watford Gap outstation.

They safely captured the bird using a swan bag, which are carried in officers’ vehicles.

Once strapped in the bag, the bird was driven to a small lake off Junction 16 at Northampton.

The incident happened at about 10.30am on November 19.

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Adrian Woods, one of the officers involved, said it was the fourth swan rescue he has carried out in his seven-year career with National Highways.

He said: “Unfortunately, when the roads are wet or there is a haze over the carriageway, swans think it is a body of water and land on the road.

“It is a bit of a shock when they hit the ground so the swan was a bit confused and its ego bruised.

“The incident was dealt with in around 10 minutes with traffic flowing again and the bird taken to a nearby lake where it was soon swimming away.

“It was a happy ending all round.”