ANIMAL welfare groups are demanding an enquiry after the deaths of over 170 swans at Monkton. It is believed they collided with overhead power lines and were unable to fly. Five more birds were seriously injured.

Two train passengers travelling separately spotted a large pile of carcasses on Monkton Marshes and phoned a swan rescue centre in Surrey on their mobile phones.

A team from the Swan Sanctuary, Egham made the gruesome discovery on Sunday. Founder Dorothy Beeston said: “There were 173 dead birds altogether, most with broken wings and necks.

“They appeared to have crashed into the overhead lines, and hit the ground. “Many had crawled into ditches and starved, as they were unable to feed themselves.

“Some seemed to have been there for months, but these are the first reports we’ve had. It was absolutely diabolical.”

Ms Beeston said she was pleased that five birds had survived, but all were very ill. One, a seven-month-old cygnet, hit a power line as sanctuary workers were at the site, and is awaiting surgery for a broken wing.

The sanctuary has the only operating theatre in the country specifically designed to treat swans. Ms Beeston said she had been lobbying utility companies for years to get them to put markers on their power lines to avoid birds hitting them.

She said: “In winter especially, swans don’t see the lines until they are almost on top of them. By then it is too late and entire flocks collide with each other.

“If plastic markers were put on the lines, they would be able to see them in plenty of time.”

Her calls have been echoed by Suzy Gale, wife of Thanet North MP Roger, who chairs the Conservative Animal Welfare group. She has written to Seeboard to ask them for markers on lines.

The five injured swans will remain at the Swan Sanctuary until they are fully fit. They will then be rehomed in private lakes, with other disabled swans.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Swan Sanctuary can visit their website www.swanuk.org.uk, or write to them at Field View, Pooley Green, Egham, Surrey, TW20 8AT