WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT
Residents of a Cornish fishing town turned vigilante after a delivery driver ran over and killed a swan - before fleeing the scene.
Nigel Tonkin, 62, was idly filming Derek the swan as the creature drank from a puddle in the harbour area of Newlyn, before seeing a white van approach.
To his shock, the driver headed straight for the swan and ran over it - with the bird's mangled body emerging from under the back wheels of the vehicle.
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Then the driver of the Alliance Healthcare van drove off - but Nigel chased after him and brought the man back to face up to his actions, insisting that he didn't drive dangerously or break the speed limit in pursuit of the vehicle.
Nigel, a retired fisherman who describes himself as Newlyn 'born and bred', said: "I just happened to be there and was filming him, and this van took him out. I was pretty disgusted and there was people shouting at him to stop."
He continued: "I watched the swan then being completely ran over from front to back of the van, the back wheels went over the swan - I just saw red then and went after him, not at speed.
"The van was only going at 20mph, I eventually stopped the van and asked him, 'Do you know what you've just done?'
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"He said, 'No, what have I done?' I told him he'd ran over a swan, and he said, 'Oh I might have seen a seagull.'"
Nigel continued: "I told him what he'd done, that young children had seen it and I told him he should go back to see if he'd harmed the swan, which I knew he had.
"So he followed me and went back, and this time there was quite a gathering of people because the swan was pretty distressed. There were several people on the phone to police and then the situation was dealt with, so I went home."
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Nigel said the swan was a popular figure in the town, and many residents had fond memories of seeing Derek raising his cygnets.
He added: "There's been a response from the company, they said that there's no police involvement, blah blah blah, they've looked at the footage and the driver hasn't done anything wrong.
"The swan died. People are saying it's just a swan, but the bird was well known in Newlyn - he was one of the community if you like. To see him taken out in that way was pretty upsetting for all that witnessed it.
"He's been in the harbour for many years and had a wife and kids, it's very sad for the town"
A spokesman from Alliance Healthcare said: "On February 3 we were made aware of the sad incident that took place in Newlyn, Cornwall, where an Alliance Healthcare delivery driver accidentally struck a swan with his van.
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"At Alliance Healthcare, we take any road traffic incidents very seriously and have immediately investigated the accident thoroughly, reviewing the visual and audio camera footage from equipment installed in the van.
"After this review, it has become clear that the driver was unaware of having struck 'Derek' the swan and was not at fault for his driving style. We understand that 'Derek' the swan was a part of the village life and that the residents of Newlyn are distressed by this event.
"We send our sincere condolences to them at this sad time. Alliance Healthcare will be making a donation to the RSPB as a mark of respect to Derek and the Newlyn community."
Featured Image Credit: SWNSTopics: UK News, cornwall, News, Animals