Police and the RSPCA have carried out an investigation following three separate incidents involving an aggressive swan in Skipton.

Skipton police reported that a man was spotted kicking a male swan that was protecting a nesting female and eggs on the canal towpath near the Craven Nursing Home, on Keighley Road.

Later, the swan got its wing caught in a bicycle wheel as a cyclist used his bike to fend off the bird.

And the following day, police say another man had a hold of the swan around its neck.

Skipton police have warned people to stay away from that part of the canal towpath and have contacted the RSPCA, which has carried out its own investigation.

A spokesman for the RSPCA, Leanne Plumtree, said: “An officer has been to the scene and, happily, the bird is uninjured. He is behaving in an aggressive way, which is quite normal at this time of year as he is protecting a nesting female and eggs.

“He, his mate and the nest and eggs are all protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and it is illegal to kill, injure or take swans from the wild unless injured. It is also illegal to interfere with the nest or eggs. We must also conform to this law and, as such, we can't move the bird on.

“As things stand this is more a public safety issue than an animal welfare one, but we are doing our best to help.

“We have spoken with the landowners, British Waterways, in the hope that they might be able to arrange a temporary diversion to keep the public away from the swan.”