A SWAN has been put down after it was attacked by a dog in a North-East park.

The brown and white shaggy ‘collie type’ dog was seen to leap on the sleeping bird’s back in front of horrified onlookers at Riverside Park in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, at about 7pm on Tuesday evening.

North-East Swan Rescue worker Linda Charlton was called after the attack near the River Wear, which left the swan badly injured.

She said: “I was called to attend to the swan by a very distressed member of the public, who had been feeding the swans and the ducks with her children.

“There were a lot of people there with lots of children screaming. It was very distressing.

“One member of the public had to restrain the dog while its owner had righted the swan and put it back in the water.

“When I arrived I could clearly see that the bird was in trouble and went into the water to rescue her.”

Mrs Charlton and RSPCA Inspector Helen Scott took the injured bird to the nearby Cestria Veterinary Centre where the two-year-old swan had to be put down because it had been left paralysed by the dog.

Mrs Charlton said: “It had suffered severe back injury. It is so sad. This is a lovely park for all to enjoy and people love coming to have an evening stroll with their dogs. Children love to come to feed the ducks and swans. This must have been very upsetting for everyone.”

Mrs Charlton is now calling for all dog walkers in the park, which has about 50 swans and about 500 ducks, to keep their pets on leads to prevent further attacks.

She added: “It is an ongoing problem we have with unleashed dogs, but it is the first time we have had an incident of this nature in the park.

“We are asking dog walkers to please keep their dogs on a lead while walking along the promenade to avoid a tragedy like this happening again.”

Anyone with information about who owned the dog can contact the RSPCA on 0300-1234-999.