Yahoo News Swan pictured in back of police car after being picked up by officers is released
The swan was hit by a car on a busy road after it was pulled from a harbour in Plymouth by a drunk man.
A swan pictured in the back of a police car after being picked up for causing chaos on a busy road has been released.
The bird was pulled from a harbour in Plymouth, Devon, by a drunken male before being hit by a car two miles away on Mutley Plain on Wednesday.
It was then taken to the vets in the back of the police car - and has now been returned to the sea after being given the all clear.
The initial picture of the swan was tweeted by Plymouth Police's D Section, with an officer describing it as "Hot Fuzz in reality" - a reference to the classic comedy film starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
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Athena Wildlife Care sanctuary released the swan back into the sea in Plymouth after vets said it had only suffered a superficial wound on its wing.
Lianne Phillips, of the sanctuary, said: "As soon as we got to the water, he wouldn't stop calling out to his mates to say he was home.
"He was in the water within a second of removing the swan wrap, honking away.
"We will be monitoring him over the next few days, but cannot anticipate any problems."
Before the release, Leanne wrote on Facebook: "A drunk person decided to pick up a swan and walk from the Barbican/Harbour to Mutley.
"At some point whilst on Mutley, the swan got away from the man, and was hit by a car.
"Someone kindly contacted the police. Unfortunately the drunk person was not in the area when the police arrived."
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Leanne said the swan was initially "quite stressed" so she gave him a full check over but after being fed and watered, his condition drastically improved.
The drama was sparked when officers from Devon and Cornwall Police were called to the scene of the collision at 6.20pm on Wednesday.
The swan was wrapped up to stop it from hurting itself before being put in the back of the car.
After the details were posted online, Sandford Police, a parody account for the fictional force from Hot Fuzz, congratulated the team involved.
It said: "Well done team. You may well have prevented anyone coming to serious harm by detaining that rogue swan."
