TREVOR'S WEEK: Poorly gull was found huddled in doorway of medical practice

Due the injuries he was taken straight to our vet Mike, who assessed it and gave first aid. Sadly the gull has a fractured leg.

Mike put an initial support around the leg to keep it stable for the journey back to the centre.

Once at the centre our care team used a splint and a cast to keep the leg straight and the fracture in place. He is now recovering in are casualty room and enjoying some late breakfast.

Three hedgehogs came into care on Sunday night, the first from Stone Cross and two rescued at South Heighton.

We have also had a couple of small hedgehogs from Lisa Barrow in Brighton who found two youngsters too small to hibernate in her garden. Bedded down he is now cosy and tucking into some hearty hedgehog food.

Rescuers Katie Nunn Nash and Chris Riddington have attended a swan at the Singing Hills Golf Course at Albourne.

Although just outside of our area, they were struggling to get anyone else to attend, so Chris and Katie arrived just before 1pm and located the swan.

It was with its mate and four cygnets, on one of the green ponds. The swan was dragging something in the water but it was difficult to see what it was.

Chris used a net on one bank and Katie used a swan hook on the other to try and catch the swan but initial attempts were unsuccessful. They inflated one of the WRAS’s rescue boats and Chris took to the water to try and contain the swan to one part of the water.

After a few attempts Chris and Katie swapped over and Katie directed the swan into a narrower part of the pond and Chris used a net on an extendable pole to catch the swan and pull her to the bank.

Once on the bank rescuers removed a length of baler twine that had a brick attached to the end. After a once over she was returned back to her family.

The swan was one of the most distressed swans they have seen. The weight of the brick was clearly worrying the swan. You can see a video of the release of the swan on our You Tube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgBJ3Y-kLNE

Rescuers Kathy Martyn, Iain Turner and I went to the aid of a Canada goose at Piltdown Pond last week. The goose clearly had a problem standing and didn’t like being in the water as it couldn’t paddle properly.

As Iain and I started attaching the nets to the extending poles Kathy went to encourage the goose away from the water’s edge to make it easier to catch. Before we knew it she had managed to catch the goose with their bare hands, although she struggled to get a proper grip and got a few nasty punches in the face from the goose’s wings!

Back at WRAS’s Casualty Centre it was clear the leg was seriously injured and need specialist veterinary help so the goose was taken up to the Swan Sanctuary for their vets to operate on. The swan is now going to stay as a permanent resident on one of their lakes.

Other rescues this week have included this beautiful grebe after a call from West Rise Junior School in Eastbourne. He was also taken to the Swan Sanctuary for specialist care.

Rescuer Tony had to catch a starling flying round inside the Martello Tower in Pevensey Bay after it had been caught by a cat and dragged inside.

Kathy rushed to the aid of a fox reported as being at the waterworks off Browns lane Uckfield next to the water tower, but sadly it was already dead.

We had a call to a very poorly bat found by West Rise Junior School which was rushed up to Jenny Clark at the Bat Hospital.

Saturday is our Christmas craft fair at East Dean Village Hall. The doors are open from 2pm till 5pm. We are running this event to help raise money for our over wintering of hedgehogs, so please come along.

We have an incredible amount of tables at the craft fair this year, with some incredible handmade items to sell like oils, candles, hand painted glasses, cakes, knitted gifts, embroidery gifts, Christmas decorations, a WRAS stall, Bird Aid Stall, tombola, Ugandan crafts, wildlife photography, hand painted pebbles, painting and canvas, hampers, cards, bath bombs and many more.

There will be refreshments too.

East Dean Village Hall is easy to get to just off the A259 at Village Green Lane, off Gilberts Drive, BN20 0DJ, next to the church.