Firefighters rescued an injured heron from a canal amid concerns a member of the public was going to 'put themselves in danger' by trying to save it.
The bird, which had broken a wing, was spotted on the bank of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, near to Seven Stars Road, in Wigan on Bank Holiday Monday morning.
Specialist water rescue firefighters were called to the scene after concerns that the person who called 999 was going to put themselves in harm's way by trying to rescue it.
A local timber yard helped firefighters get onto the canal bank.
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Crews then used specialist equipment to bring the bird to safety, before it was handed over to the RSPCA officer to receive treatment.
Station manager Chris Evans, from Wigan, said: "Crews from Wigan and specialist water rescue teams from Eccles and Heywood were called to assist with recovering an injured bird.
"A member of the public had contacted the RSPCA after spotting the bird, and there were concerns they would put themselves in danger by entering the canal to rescue it.
"Despite being injured, and being for its own benefit, the bird did its best to evade being rescued, so crews quickly committed to the water to help it get to safety and into the care of the RSPCA inspector."
The heron will now be cared for at a sanctuary and will be released back into the wild once its wing has healed.
