A SWAN who had to be rescued by firefighters on the River Severn in Worcester may not win its battle for life, bird lovers fear.

Volunteers from Bishopswood Rescue Centre, near Stourport-on-Severn, called Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service at 12.23pm on Saturday, in a last-ditch attempt to rescue the sick bird.

Volunteer, Edward Bird, said he and colleague, Ron Hooper, had spent about an-hour-and-a-half trying to rescue the swan, which they believed was suffering from severe lead poisoning.

They had been alerted to it by a member of the public, but attempts to get it to the shore using a swan hook had proved fruitless.

"We couldn't catch it - it was too sick and was incapable of feeding and suchlike. Often in these cases, the firefighters will come out and help us," he said.

"The swan was so ill, it was drifting down the river."

One fire engine from the city attended and two fire fighters saved the day - entering the water in a dinghy, to get to the swan.

Mr Bird - who is responsible for putting the rings on the swans' legs - said it was showing classic signs of lead poisoning - with kinks in its neck. It was incapable of feeding and drifting away from the other swans.

He said the lead may have come from old fishing weights or gunshot and that the swan may have drifted down from upstream as it had not been seen in the Worcester area for some time.

It is now at Bishopswood but Mr Bird said it would be a struggle to keep it alive as - at 15lb - it is half the weight it should be.

The poisoned animal's discovery comes as swan rescue volunteers urge Worcester residents to feed the birds more after two other swans were found ill and malnourished over the weekend. The wildlife volunteer also was out at 2.30pm yesterday rescuing a sick underweight swan from the river in the city centre - and appealed to people to feed them where possible.

"At this time of year, they are quite hungry, so the more people get down and feed them the better," he said.

"There isn't much food around for them here and so they tend to rely on handouts."