Swanning around! Moment motorists rescue stranded swan from the middle of the M5 after getting out of their cars to stop traffic
- Footage of swan was taken between Bristol and Burnham-on-Sea on October 25
- Five people get out their vehicles and attempt to move the bird to hard shoulder
- Swan attempts to fly multiple times before it’s lifted over guard rail by rescuer
This is the heartwarming moment kindhearted motorists stopped traffic to help move a stranded swan off the motorway.
The footage, taken on the M5 motorway between Bristol and Burnham-on-Sea, shows the swan sitting on the middle of the road.
The bird soon attempts to fly away after five people usher it over to the hard shoulder and off the road.
The motorists stopped traffic on the M5 motorway near Bristol and Burnham-on-Sea to help the stranded swan get off the motorway
Although the animal attempts to take flight multiple times and flaps its wings, it seems too tired to manage to fly out of harms way.
Eventually one of the rescuers manage to catch the young swan with their jacket and lift it over the guard rail to the safety of the grass on the other side.
Harry Gunning, 23, who took the video, said: ‘The motorway was average busy, with lots of caravans and lorries, but 3 lanes quickly piled up.
Eventually one of the rescuers manage to catch the young swan with their jacket and lift it over the guard rail to the safety of the grass on the other side
‘Traffic was disrupted for around 5-10minutes as the swan kept running away.’
He added: ‘The area we were driving through is known as the ‘Somerset Levels’ and is known to have a lot of birds around it, the M5 goes straight through the middle of the countryside.
‘The Swan was a juvenile, meaning it probably was quite new to flying and underestimated its flying strengths and dangers of the motorway – very lucky not to get run over – and the public were very happy to assist it, not a single beep or angry driver throughout.’
In the video, which was taken on October 25, cars are seen stopped in the middle of the road as the drivers get out to assist the animal.