Posh n' Pecks

The two swans appeared last week. Nearby resident Melanie Blunden said straw had been put down on one of the slipways at the weekend to help them build a nest.

Animal welfare worker Billy Elliott, from local charity Wadars (Worthing and District Animal Rescue Service), said swans often picked inappropriate places to nest, but added that they were a protected species.

Mr Elliott said: "Swans are very territorial and, if they have a spot along the river, they will fight to the death to protect it.

"Because there is a shortage of places along the river, swans are having to take these steps.

"The swans are owned by the Crown. The person in charge of them is the swan master and he is in charge of all the swans in the country. He has to give permission to have them removed."

He added that swans could lay around five eggs at a time and would sit on the nest for about a month, waiting for them to hatch.