Swan's eggs rescued from drowning during floods hatch into fluffy cygnets in Milton Keynes

A swan whose nest was drowning in a flood has finally become a mum.

Last week the Citizen described how a remarkable rescue was carried out to save the nest and eight eggs on a city balancing lake.

The young swan, believed to be a first-time mum, made her nest a short distance out from the bank and got into trouble when days of heavy rain were followed by a storm last Tuesday.

The water level suddenly shot up by a couple of feet within minutes and the entire nest was submerging.

City wild bird expert Allie Short volunteers for a national swan rescue charity and keeps a close eye on swans all over MK.

She rushed to the scene and, with no time to put on waders, plunged thigh-deep into the water to hold the nest afloat and stop the eggs from tipping into the lake.

She and her partner Scott Humphries used armfuls of straw to build a platform to support the nest – then waited with baited breath to see if the swan would accept it.

"Luckily the swan seemed to trust Allie. She’s a regular visitor there and the swan seemed to recognise and know she was helping her,” said Scott.

"It was important that we didn’t touch the eggs or the swan could reject them. Allie just balanced them on the straw and the swan used her beak and her feet to roll them into place.”

Luckily the swan resumed sitting on the eggs almost immediately, turning them every few minutes – which is a sign they were ready to hatch.

Over the weekend, Allie and Scott kept a discreet watch from the bank and were delighted to see the first fluffy cygnet emerge.

This has been followed by three more and it is hoped others may hatch later today.

We have kept the swan’s location a secret so she may raise her brood in peace.

Swans typically take two to three weeks to build their nest, after which they lay an egg every 12 to 24 hours.

The egg laying process begins with an egg being laid every 12-24 hours. They sit on the eggs for around six weeks before the hatching process begins.