Wigan Spill !
And then just weeks after the Rotherham oil spill the RSPCA water rescue team were called out again to rescue five swans from a polluted lake in Wigan. Diesel had been dumped in a fishing lake in Scot Lane, Martland Mill.
We were not sure exactly how the diesel got there but the dumping of oil onto lakes is sadly not uncommon. It is obviously illegal but it is extremely frustrating when you think of the enormous harm it has on the environment and the animals that live in, on and near the water.
Officers using a water rescue boat were sent to the scene the next day and thankfully were able to capture the affected swans on the first attempt, which is not always the case!
They were then transferred to Stapeley in swan bags (pictured above right), where the time-consuming task of cleaning the swans took place. Unlike the Rotherham swans these swans were really covered in the oil, so it took some real elbow grease and several washes to get them looking as white as they did in the picture below.
Once fully washed up and dried off the five swans were then put out on one of the pools.
After an oil spill it can often be a waiting game for the oil to be removed which often involves finding the source of the spill.
On this occasion we received good news from our officer in the field who emailed to say that the Environment Agency and the local council had been in contact and had advised them that the lake had now been given a clean bill of health and had past their water tests. We were also informed that also they had also found the source of the spill and that there would not be a repeat of the situation.
So two weeks later these five, very white, swans were returned home; the perfect outcome for everyone involved.
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