A swan with a large fishing hook and line piercing its foot had to be rescued in in Sale.
Visitors spotted the distressed bird at Sale Water Park before calling the RSPCA for help on September 10.
Inspector Steve Wickham, who specialises in water rescues, arrived to find the suffering swan in 'agony'.
“This poor swan was in a sorry state," he said.
"The people who spotted him could see the fishing line was tangled between his foot and wing.
“When I was able to look at him up close, I could see there was also a fishing hook that had pierced his foot. He must have been in agony.”
The swan was transported to RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich, where a vet was able to remove the hook and wire.
After a few days of care, the swan was released back to the park to be reunited with its mate.
Steve added: “My colleagues and I are working as hard as we can to rescue as many of these stricken animals as we can, and where needed transport them to a vet or to our specialist wildlife centres.
“Thankfully, many can be saved but they may require a lot of care, treatment and rehabilitation. Others aren’t so lucky and sometimes their injuries are just too severe for them to survive.
“It’s tragic for animal lovers like us to see the effects of discarded litter like this, especially when there is such a simple solution: clear up your litter and take it home with you.
“We’re particularly concerned that this rise in angling litter injuries may be due to new and inexperienced anglers taking up the activity, as most experienced anglers are very responsible when it comes to wildlife and taking care of their equipment."
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