RSPCA water teams shrugged off the winter weather to come to the aid of stricken swans across the North West of England, including in Trafford.

Animal rescue officers Stephen Wickham and David Cottingham deployed the charity’s rescue dinghy so that they could reach a swan who had dropped down into an overflow at Sale Water Park.

The pair - both clad in waterproof wear and PPE - rowed out to the location and used a reach and rescue pole to grab the bird before releasing her back on the chilly waters on the afternoon of December 8.

Stephen also joined two officers from Greater Manchester Fire Rescue Service as they came to the aid of a swan, who was stuck in frozen waters at Kingsdown Flash at Abram near Wigan on December 9.

The trio boarded a specialist fire service raft, designed to be dragged across icy surfaces, to reach the bird.

Sadly, the animal was found to be suffering from avian flu and was put to sleep - but the rescue team were at least able to prevent the stricken swan from further trauma.

Stephen, who is trained in swiftwater rescue techniques, said: “The swan at Sale Water Park was too far away for us to get to by wading out across the freezing water, so we needed to get our dinghy out.

“Unfortunately, avian flu has really affected the bird life at the water park and we’ve lost 30 swans to the disease recently.

"Happily, this swan was in a healthy condition, so it was nice to be able to put one back on the water after a successful rescue.

“There are RSPCA officers, like myself, who are trained in water rescues and members of the public should not attempt to rescue birds trapped in circumstances like this, particularly in the freezing weather conditions we are experiencing at the moment.”