A FAMILY of ''distressed'' swans were rescued by firefighters when their pond became contaminated with oil thought to have been poured down a drain.

The parent swans and their five cygnets were completely covered with oil when a crew from Worcester Fire Station captured them in an inflatable boat.

The crew went to the rescue at Warndon's Shire Business Park after receiving a call from The Swan Rescue Centre just after lunchtime yesterday.

"The centre told us it had found the pool to be contaminated with oil," said Carl Horsburgh, leading firefighter with Worcester Blue Watch.

"We got here at 1.45pm, launched our boat and captured the swans. They were grateful to get out of the pond."

The RSPCA used its ambulance to transport the birds from Wainwright Road, to the Swan Rescue Centre in Wychbold.

"It was so hot and the birds were so distressed that the ambulance took the first five birds, then the other two," said Jan Harrigan, co-ordinator and founder of the centre.

"It will take them three months to recover. We have washed them down but they will need washing again.

''They will need antibiotics and to be fed with charcoal. There were a lot of ducks there covered in oil which couldn't be caught.

''This is a serious pollution problem and a costly operation. We need to know where the problem came from."

Severn Trent Water is helping the fire brigade and environment agency clean up the pond and is currently investigating the source of the contamination.

"Our surface water sewers are only designed to take rainwater and water washed off roads," said a spokeswoman for Severn Trent.

"Somebody has dumped a large amount of oil down a drain when they should not have done. They may not have realised that the oil would lead to this point. Severn Trent will have to backtrack though the drains to find out where it occurred. "

6 Anyone who would like to become a Swan Rescue volunteer should contact 01527 861112.