A FAMILY has been left motherless after a dog mauling in what has been described as 'the worst year ever for swan deaths.

On Saturday afternoon a walker at North Lake south of Bracknell noticed Willow the swan was missing.

The walker called Swan Support and when officers arrived, they found the bird dead behind a bush, with bites consistent of a dog's.

Just two days later a swan was strangled and shot on the River Thames in Reading.

"This is the worst year we have ever had," said Swan Support's Wendy Hermon, who helps protect the species across the Thames Valley.

"I have been doing this for 25 years. It is just getting worse and worse. I give up now. I just want to cry. It wrecks the whole family unit. They mate for life.

"Willow has left Prince behind with four cygnets. They were together for ten years. People just need to keep their dogs on a lead."

Mrs Hermon said that while Willow's offspring are big enough to survive, the emotional shock could be lasting.

"I believe that all animals mourn in their own way," she continued.

"They get on with it but they have been together for years. They were a real close family.

"About two months ago at Heath Lake in Wokingham a male was attacked and killed. The next morning cygnets were killed by a dog. "The owners called us up very distressed. He said he had been walking around the lake for two years with his dog off the lead and he never thought they would do that."

In March this year a swan was found decapitated near Scours Lane in Reading.

Swan Support has started a petition calling for dogs to be kept on leads in public places.

To sign it, click here