M18 delays: Swan causes delays during rush hour after 'strutting' down hard shoulder of Yorkshire motorway

Traffic officers from Highways England, which looks after major roads and motorways in Yorkshire and beyond, were called to the scene on the M18 near Doncaster at around 8.30am (Sep 18).

Hollie Zmak, Patrick Jones and Jamie Ellison launched a rescue operation and a roadblock was put in place before Hollie and Patrick were able to bring traffic to a standstill between junctions 3 and 4 and get to the swan on the southbound carriageway.

They then used a specialist swan bag to safely get the bird away from the dangers of the road and enjoyed its company ahead of its release at a nearby lake.

Hollie said: “It was just waddling down the hard shoulder so we put a block on straight away.”

Patrick added: “We decided that behind the barrier was the best place to put it in the swan bag and it behaved so well. We placed him or her in the bag and put it in the back of our vehicle.”

Hollie said she may have even found herself a new colleague due to how well it bonded with the crew and the vehicle.

She said: “It was really chilled. It was just sat in the back of the vehicle ready to go to sleep. All it needed was some high-vis.”

Patrick said: “It was like another crew member. We took it to a lake and let it go. We gave it a stroke and it didn’t want to leave us.”