Police called in to rescue bird seen swanning around on the M25

Police escorted the swan from the road (Photo: Darren Roos)

Darren Roos

13 January 2016

A swan has caused traffic havoc on the M25 this morning as the police had to escort the bird from the road.

A picture of the swan being followed by a police car appeared on Twitter after lengthy delays on the motorway near junction 13.

One user posted: "Police 'escorting' a swan on the M25 during morning peak traffic #loveit"

Another Twitter user said: "Swan. Flanked by 2 police officers.simonpegg eat your heart out"

The bird held up traffic between junction 13 and 14 during one of the busiest periods of the day.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> M25 delay due to 'Animals in the road'. Next thing, a copper is casually strolling down the hard shoulder with a swan under his arm! — Ashley Vine (@ashleyvine9) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ashleyvine9/status/687219911366721536" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/ashleyvine9/status/687219911366721536" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 13, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> Animal in the road on the M25. Sheep? Cow? Horse??? Nope. Swan. SWAN. Flanked by 2 police officers. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/simonpegg" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/simonpegg" data-vars-event-id="c23">@simonpegg</a> eat your heart out — Leila Salarkia (@dark_as_leila) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/dark_as_leila/status/687212560131686401" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/dark_as_leila/status/687212560131686401" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 13, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/TfLTrafficNews" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/TfLTrafficNews" data-vars-event-id="c23">@TfLTrafficNews</a> hold up between junction 13 & 14 on M25 because of a SWAN in the road!!!!! <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotJoking?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotJoking?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#NotJoking</a> — Steph Channing (@StephyC1990) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/StephyC1990/status/687196451634556928" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/StephyC1990/status/687196451634556928" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 13, 2016</a>

It was not the only delay on the road this morning after the road was temporarily closed after a hatchback caught fire causing major distruption.

Lanes remain closed as Surrey Fire and Rescue attend the burning car near junctions 8 anti-clockwise.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrafficAlert?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/hashtag/TrafficAlert?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#TrafficAlert</a> between junction 7 & 8 <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/M25?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/hashtag/M25?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#M25</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/surrey?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/hashtag/surrey?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#surrey</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/q0EfouuXjU" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://t.co/q0EfouuXjU" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/q0EfouuXjU</a> — Katerina Novotna (@KatNovotna) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/KatNovotna/status/687198202303504384" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/KatNovotna/status/687198202303504384" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 13, 2016</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> Crews have now left the road traffic collision on <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/M25?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/hashtag/M25?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#M25</a> Reigate to Leatherhead. The incident has been left with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/HighwaysSEAST" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/HighwaysSEAST" data-vars-event-id="c23">@HighwaysSEAST</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamwork?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamwork?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#teamwork</a> — Surrey Fire & Rescue (@SurreyFRS) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/SurreyFRS/status/687217863212568576" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3155316-https://twitter.com/SurreyFRS/status/687217863212568576" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 13, 2016</a>

They left shortly after 10.20am.

Highways England expect the car to be removed and for traffic to be flowing freely by about 12.15pm

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