Silt parasites kill cygnet family

The Swan Sanctuary at Shepperton is caring for two of the cygnets

A family of swans has been rescued from a lake at an Eastbourne park which is so badly silted up that six cygnets have died from internal parasites.

Four adult swans were removed from Hampden Park lake this week. Six out of eight cygnets rescued last month died.

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS) said the poor state of the lake caused the problem.

Eastbourne Borough Council said it was trying to secure a National Lottery grant to remove the silt from the lake.

The cygnets removed from the lake in August were suffering from a parasite which caused them to lose weight.

Relocated

The were taken to the Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton, Surrey, but only two survived.

The four adults relocated on Monday to Princes Park in the town, were their mother and father and two of the cygnets born the previous year.

"The problem affects the swans as they are bottom feeders and spend a lot of time sifting through the silt and leaf litter at the bottom of the pond," said Trevor Weeks of WRAS.

He said the lake had not been cleared for years and in places had only a couple of inches of water but over 4ft (1.2m) of silt.

Lottery bid

Councillor David Elkin agreed Hampden Park lake had become heavily silted over many years.

"Eastbourne Borough Council is working with the Friends of Hampden Park to secure a lottery bid to remove the silt," he said.

"We will investigate what work can be carried out in the long short term but, ultimately, the long-term solution will be the removal of the silt."

Mr Weeks said the only alternative would be to fill in the lake.