Angie Brown<\/span>Edinburgh and East reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n Firefighters helped rescue a swan after it spent four days stuck on an icy pond in Edinburgh. <\/p>\n Local residents said the nine-month-old cygnet got into difficulty at Easter Craiglockhart Hill during the cold snap last week. <\/p>\n It was initially monitored by officers with the Scottish SPCA who were unable to reach it but threw bird seed onto the ice. <\/p>\n Eventually, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent 21 firefighters, two fire engines and water rescue resources to the scene. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n A firefighter with experience of handling swans was among those deployed to take part in the operation. <\/p>\n Once captured, the bird was handed over to the Scottish SPCA who took it to the charity’s Alloa rescue centre. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for the SFRS said: “Our response by trained and equipped firefighters can prevent members of the public putting themselves in danger by attempting to do their own rescue.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Catriona Dawson, an animal rescue officer with the Scottish SPCA, was involved in monitoring the swan. <\/p>\n She said she checked it twice a day before the fire service were called to the scene by a concerned local resident shortly before midday on Thursday. <\/p>\n It was kicking its legs and flapping its wings but it could not stand up to walk across the ice. <\/p>\n She said crews laid an inflatable across the frozen boating pond to allow a firefighter to crawl on their stomach to the swan, which was about 16 yards (15m) from the shore. <\/p>\n Once the bird got to dry land Dawson checked it over and found it was struggling to walk properly as it had not used its legs for four days. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Jim Heath, Friends of Craiglockhart Hill chairman, told BBC Scotland News residents in the area were “very upset” by the plight of the swan.<\/p>\n “There was a lot of concerned people worried about that cygnet,” he said.<\/p>\n “It was flapping with its wings and its feet were trying to paddle but it could not get off the ice, it was horrible.<\/p>\n “It was too treacherous to get out to it and people were disturbed by it so the Scottish SPCA were called several times.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A SFRS spokesperson: “As a humanitarian organisation our highly skilled crews answer a wide range of calls to help animals in distress across the country.”<\/p>\n They also urged people to avoid going near frozen water, and not to attempt to rescue anyone who gets into difficulty on ice. <\/p>\n “Dial 999 and ask for the fire and rescue service, then wait for help to arrive,” the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n The pond was created in the 1870s as a venue for skating, curling and boating for holidaymakers from Edinburgh. It is now a wildlife reserve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Wolf](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/5228\/live\/77ae19e0-efd0-11f0-9a79-cfc8898f9898.jpg.webp\")
Wolf Greullich<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20251210-151139-37baf2dfdd-web-2.36.1-1\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Guy](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/98ed\/live\/a6ca0370-efed-11f0-85b2-f5b71fbc2693.jpg.webp\")
Guy Booth<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Scottish](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/0df8\/live\/d3a8ac30-efd3-11f0-9a79-cfc8898f9898.jpg.webp\")
Scottish SPCA<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Wolf](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/3669\/live\/84b815c0-efd3-11f0-9a79-cfc8898f9898.jpg.webp\")
Wolf Greullich<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n