An incident which saw a cygnet struck and killed by a rowing boat dampened the otherwise cheery mood at Durham Regatta on Saturday.
In an apparently inadvertent collision the cygnet, one of several paddling on the River Wear with two adult swans, was hit by a quadruple crew who were facing backwards as they raced down the River Wear in one of the hundreds of contests on the city racecourse.
Shocked onlookers appeared to be distressed as the scene unfolded in front of a landing stage lined with spectators.
A rescue craft was quickly on hand to try to recover the stricken cygnet from the river.
One of those present on the riverbanks at the time said it seemed to be a “totally accidental” collision, with unfortunate consequences.
“The crew involved was rowing backwards and would not have seen the swans.
“Some of the people sitting nearby were really distressed.
“It was obviously quite upsetting.”
Regatta chair Michael Laing said he was made aware of the incident, which he described as, “a very unfortunate accident”, which in keeping with rowing guidelines was reported to the relevant agencies.
Mr Laing said: “We know there’s been an incident with a cygnet.
“I have spoken to the Regatta Secretary and we have followed British Rowing guidelines regarding the managing of wildlife on the river.
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“It appears to have been a very unfortunate accident.
“We have reported it to Defra (Department for Farming and Rural Affairs) and to the police.”
The incident took place as crowds were starting to build up on the riverbanks on the opening day of the 192nd regatta.
