Regatta race 'could have stopped' before swan deaths

A boat race on the River Thames during which two cygnets were struck and killed could have been stopped, a swan welfare charity has said.

Swan Support said it believed "there was an opportunity" for the Reading Amateur Regatta race to be stopped and "for crews to take evasive action" when the incident happened on Saturday.

Regatta organisers said they were working closely with Swan Support, British Rowing and the Environment Agency (EA) on a review to understand exactly what happened.

The EA said any investigation into what happened would be for the police. Thames Valley Police has been contacted for comment.

The regatta has been taking place on the second or third weekend in June every year since 1842, along the Thames promenade, next to Caversham Bridge.

Swan Support said in a statement that event organisers operating under the EA licences "have a responsibility to consider and implement appropriate measures to protect waterfowl and other wildlife using the river".

It said it had agreed before the event that its volunteers would be present to "provide visibility".

"Under normal circumstances, we would seek to deploy additional volunteers and resources such as boats. We were advised that marshals and other agreed measures would be in place; however, it appears that some of these arrangements were not implemented as anticipated."

The charity said the circumstances around the incident were part of ongoing discussions with the race organisers and relevant authorities.

The organising committee for the regatta said "significant planning and a range of measures", developed with advice from Swan Support, were put in place before the event to protect wildlife.

"These measures included using launches to encourage waterfowl away from the racing lane, using a range of communication channels to ask spectators not to feed birds along the course, relocating wildfowl considered to be at risk to designated holding areas, and stopping races where an immediate risk of collision with wildlife was identified.

"Swan Support were present on both days and actively provided valuable support.

"Additional measures were put in place on the second day.

"We deeply regret that, despite these efforts, this incident occurred."

It said it's review would identify any lessons that could be learned and consider what further measures may be appropriate in the future.

Swan Support confirmed that the swan family had been returned to the area and that it had five cygnets left.