A woman who dived into freezing water to rescue an injured swan has been praised for her bravery by a passer-by who helped her.

The incident occurred at around 11.30am on Monday morning (April 12) on Moreton shore and was spotted by Becky Holden, who had decided to take a walk down the front towards Meols.

Becky, from Ellesmere Port, had only been in the area to collect an order from nearby Optus Resin, but after taking what was supposed to be a quick stroll, she spotted the distressed bird in the water.

Wirral Globe: Britt and Charlotte care for the injured swan after it was rescued from the waterBritt and Charlotte care for the injured swan after it was rescued from the water

Becky told the Globe: "I was walking with my friend Charlotte when we noticed the injured swan then saw a girl, who we now know as Britt, distressed. She said a lot of people were just taking pictures and walking on.

"She had been trying to get to the swan. She rang the coast guard and RSPCA who both said they couldn’t help unless the swan was out of the water.

"The swan had blood coming from its wing. It looked like it had been attacked by something.

"Britt jumped in the water and guided the swan to me and my friend Charlotte, who dragged it out of the water.

Wirral Globe:

"We helped Britt get the swan in the car. She is a hero in my eyes and needs some recognition."

Becky has tried to find Britt on Facebook and Instagram, but has had no luck tracking her down.

After the Swan was rescued by Britt, the friends helped her put the Swan into the boot of her car before she rushed it off to the vets.

Wirral Globe:

Becky added: "I would love to find out if it’s OK."

An RSPCA spokesperson told the Globe: "We do plenty of water rescues and have a specially trained water rescue team. 

"In this instance, the information that was provided to our call centre didn't accurately describe the seriousness of the situation so it wasn't high priority enough for an animal rescuer to attend when we have many more urgent calls coming in.

"We're always grateful to people for keeping an eye out for animals and reporting them to us. We have specialist water rescues officers but on this occasion the report was of an oiled swan rather than one with a serious injury which would have been treated as a high priority.

"We're thankful to the person who helped the swan."

Sadly, the Swan reportedly died from its injuries, but this account has not yet been verified.