A GROUP of swans from Anniesland have topped the list of an animal welfare charity’s most unusual rescues of 2019.

The Scottish SPCA released the list of 10 rescues that they found most memorable for being bizarre. And one that made the list was a story of a mum and dad swan who got separated from two of their cygnets.

An SSPCA spokeswoman said: “Senior animal rescue officer Jan Toraman attended the canal basin at Lock 27 after a member of the public phoned about cygnets being separated from their parents.

“The two parents and their six babies were originally in the high water but due to the basin dropping, two cygnets had slipped down into the water below.

“Mum managed to get to the lower water but couldn’t lead her babies back up to where the male and the rest of the cygnets were.

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“Mum put the babies on her back and tucked them under her wings, something Jan had never seen before. To get them back to the higher level, Jan lay a trail of food to encourage mum to follow.”

The family was then successfully reunited.

In other unusual rescues, an otter was spotted on a street in Inverurie, a stowaway snake was found in a woman’s suitcase after her holiday to Australia, and a cockatiel was found taking refuge in a McDonald’s cup as he was being attacked by a group of magpies.