Swan halts motorway traffic and causes long delays after ‘confused’ bird wanders onto M1
A lost swan has been safely rescued from a major motorway after it brought traffic to a standstill.
National Highways was called to the M1 near Northampton following reports of a swan wandering across the motorway.
CCTV cameras near Junction 16 of the M1 showed the swan at the verge of the M1 before getting on the northbound carriageway.
The incident, which took place at around 10.30am on November 19, saw vehicles stop successfully just before the swan.
Two National Highways traffic officers were called to the East Midlands motorway from their base at the Watford Gap station.
The transport organisation confirmed that the trespasser was safely caught using a swan bag, which was carried in the officers’ vehicles.
Once it had been collected, the swan was transported to a small lake at Junction 16 of the M1, near Northampton.
Officers Adrian Woods and Simon Quigley were involved in the rescue, adding that the situation was “a happy ending all round”.
The swan was eventually captured after holding up traffic on the M1
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Mr Woods added: “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.”
The traffic officers noted that this was his fourth swan rescue in the seven years that he has been with National Highways.
National Highways’ Adrian Woods helped retrieve the swan on the M1 and return it safely to the water
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Traffic delays involving swans are relatively uncommon, although they can cause havoc when cars are forced to wait for birds to be collected or move on.
In November last year, the East Midlands division of National Highways said it encountered a swan on the A14 near Kettering.
Two drivers had “worked together to corner the swan” before it was captured by a traffic officer who released it into a nearby lake.
Similarly, a swan on the carriageway on the M1 northbound between J32 and J33 near Rotherham caused 10 minutes of delays and one mile of congestion.
The swan was safely returned to the water near J16 of the M1
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NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
Posting an update on social media, National Highways: Yorkshire said traffic officers had managed to safely contain the swan and released the vehicles.
Another incident took place in January last year and resulted in two lanes being closed on the M3 east between J3 Lightwater and J2 M25.
National Highways reported that the collision involved two cars and a swan, although the swan flew off when the vehicles were being recovered.
Surrey Roads Policing teams attended the scene to manage traffic, with the swan causing delays of 60 minutes and seven miles of congestion.
