Ambulance smashed and taken off road in bizarre crash with pair of low-flying swans

An ambulance was left severely damaged after two low-flying swans crashed into it on a busy dual carriageway near Abergele in Conwy County Borough.

The bizarre incident happened on the westbound carriageway of the A55 on Thursday 31 March.

The ambulance's windscreen was left "completely smashed" and the vehicle was taken off the road, but remarkably neither paramedics on board nor the swans were injured. 

The ambulance was towed away following the incident and the Welsh Ambulance Service confirmed that no patients were on board at the time.

• The moment one of the swans was released after being monitored overnight

RSPCA inspector Mike Pugh attended the incident to take the uninjured swans in for overnight observations as a precaution.

Both swans initially remained next to the road, but police officers managed to get the female bird over a fence into the safety of the park. Her mate had moved into a nearby ditch.

The pair were reunited in Pentre Mawr Park the following day having been checked over by the RSPCA.

Mr Pugh said: "When I arrived, police were on the scene kindly keeping an eye on the male swan to make sure that he didn’t come out of the ditch and get back onto the road.

"I managed to get in amongst the reeds - getting covered in mud in the process - to retrieve him, and thankfully even though there were no obvious injuries, I decided to take him home for observation overnight.

"I’ve been called out to hundreds of incidents involving swans over the years, but this was the first time I’ve had to deal with a rescue involving an emergency vehicle that has ended up coming off worse.

"I’m just thankful that the ambulance crew and the birds were not injured as it could easily have been a different outcome.

"We’d also like to thank the police for their assistance at the scene which helped to ensure the male swan stayed put and was able to be caught and assessed quickly."

Steve Williams, Welsh Ambulance Service's locality manager for Conwy and Denbighshire, said: "Bird strikes are a very rare occurrence and we’re thankful that there were no patients on board at the time of the collision and that the crew were uninjured, albeit shaken.

"We are delighted too that the swans were unhurt and have since been reunited. We would like to extend a thanks to our RSPCA and North Wales Police colleagues for their assistance at the scene.”