A swan needed dozens of stitches after smashing through an elderly woman’s double-glazed window just moments after she left the room.

The RSPCA said the bird flew into the bathroom window of the woman’s chalet home in Shamrock Lodge, Barton in Fabis, Nottinghamshire, at around 8am on Monday.

She heard a loud crash, found her bathroom window shattered and the wounded bird on the floor.

Swan
The bird required dozens of stiches (RSPCA/PA)

The female swan ended up cut and dazed after the incident and was taken to a nearby vet’s where she spent more than an hour in surgery.

She has since been transferred to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, near Nantwich, Cheshire, for further treatment and will be rehabilitated until she is healthy enough to be released back into the wild.

Animal rescue inspector Keith Ellis was sent to the scene to collect the injured animal, who was taken for emergency veterinary treatment.

Mr Ellis said: “The lady was so lucky when this happened as she had just been in the bathroom.

“Had she still been there when this swan crashed through the window, I am sure the glass shattering and the impact of the bird hitting her would have caused serious injury – or even worse.

Swan
The elderly woman had left the room just moments before (RSPCA/PA)

“I think the swan was looking and flying to the nearby River Trent and must have misjudged the direction. It was also quite windy at the time, which may have blown her off course.

“I have been an RSPCA inspector for 40 years and have never seen a swan crash through a window.”

Mr Ellis continued: “I have seen them crash-land on to busy roads thinking they are rivers but nothing like this. It is so bizarre.

“She was a bit dazed when I went to collect her and had lost a lot of blood but we managed to get her to the vets quickly and she spent an hour in surgery having dozens of stitches to a wound under her wing.

“She will receive further treatment at Stapeley Grange and hopefully she will soon be able to return to the wild.”