A town council has warned fisherman to be careful when disposing of equipment after cygnets in Earley swallowed fishing line.

Earley Town Council has warned people fishing in the area to dispose of fishing lane responsibility after park rangers monitoring Maiden Erlegh Lake, off Beech Lane, noticed a cygnet had swallowed the line.

The animal had swallowed the hook which had caught in its throat, meaning it was unable to eat. The line was also tangled around the animals body and it was flapping its wings in distress.

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Swan Support, an organisation in Bray which helps injures swans, was called by the park rangers to untangle the cygnet.

They made the decision to cut the line and use a metal detector to try and locate the hook in the animal’s throat.

After an x-ray, it was deemed that the animal is well and health and no damage was done. However, as it had to be removed from it’s family, it will now be unable to return to the lake.

Writing about the incident online, the town council said: “Earlier this month, our park rangers noticed that one of the cygnets from Maiden Erlegh Lake was had swallowed the end of some fishing line.

“It seemed the hook had been swallowed and caught in their throat, which was preventing them from being able to eat.

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"The line hanging out of their mouth then got tangled up around their body and leg which caused the cygnet to start flapping their wings in distress.

“Swan Support arrived and managed to capture the cygnet before untangling them. Seeing the line had been swallowed and was caught in the cygnet’s throat, they cut the line and used a metal detector to try and locate the hook in the throat.

“It was decided the best option was for them to take the cygnet away for x-ray in case the hook was stuck.

Thankfully, upon x-ray, no hook was found (it may have passed through after the line was cut). The cygnet is eating again and doing well and will hopefully be released soon.

“Unfortunately, due to being separated from its family, it will not be possible to return the cygnet to Maiden Erlegh Lake.

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“The fishing line removed measured 2.5 meters in total. A huge thank you to Swan Support and our Park Rangers.

“Fishing line and litter can pose a huge risk to wildlife, please ensure you dispose of all litter and fishing line responsibly.”

Residents were pleased that the cygnet survived but were saddened to hear it could not return to the lake.