A WILDLIFE charity has nursed more than 3,500 swans and animals back to health this year, making it the busiest year on record.

Dedicated volunteers at the Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital at Brandsby, near York, have so far received 3,529 call-outs to injured wildlife throughout northern England.

While volunteers and vets in the majority treat injured swans, Dan Sidley, co-founder of the Yorkshire Swan Rescue Hospital, said the increase this year is due to the centre expanding its scope to cater for all injured wildlife, including badgers, foxes, deer and birds of prey.

He said: “We are up by a few hundred animals on last year’s figures, making this our busiest year in our history.

“We are coping well with demand for our service, thanks to many new volunteers, but we always require extra pairs of hands.”

He said the summer months tended to be the most hectic, with much of the hospital’s work stemming from careless fishing, but this winter’s cold snap had seen a spike in the number of calls.

Mr Sidley said: “The cold weather has seen a big increase in casualties suffering from starvation, dehydration and hypothermia. One particular swan we have in at the moment has frost bite burns all over his feet, although he is recovering well.”

He said they also had to transport water to the hospital, due to frozen pipes.

Cases this year included a badger trapped in a cupboard in the home of an elderly couple after the door was left open, a swan which had its neck injured in barbed wire in the River Foss, and a deer which had been hit on the A64.

The hospital is the largest and busiest treatment centre for injured swans in northern England and relies entirely on donations from the public. The centre can be phoned on 07763 424892.