THIS swan struggles to free itself after becoming stuck in a frozen river.

The stricken bird became stuck fast when the River Exe iced over as temperatures in the Exeter area plummeted to their lowest in almost 50 years.

Vast swathes of the river and the Canal Basin froze over, leaving the swan desperate to break free after becoming encased in the ice yesterday.

Photographer Mark Passmore pictured the bird struggling to crack the ice that had formed around it – and eventually free itself.

RSPCA volunteer Alan Pollard freed four of the birds from the frozen river earlier in the day – using a spade on a rope to break up the ice.

He said: "I made a channel for the swans so they could swim out. They're OK now but one of them was especially stuck fast. I've not seen the river like this a for a long time.

"But if it continues like this and the swans freeze up again, I'll do my best to free them – by whatever means I can."

Peter Exley, of the RSPB, said the freezing weather was a real danger to the swans.

"It poses a real risk to them," he said. "It's like frozen to metal for humans – it's very painful. And it will kill them if they become totally trapped – it is a big concern."

Although there have been partial freezes in the last 30 years, the current levels of ice on the river are the worst in living memory for most people.

The region shivered its way through temperatures of -13.6C in the early hours of yesterday,

in readings taken at Exeter Airport.

That compares to the big freeze of 1962/63 when Exeter suffered temperatures of -11.7C.

It is lower than the last severe cold snap in January 1979, when temperatures dropped to -13.1C.

Visitors to Exeter Quay yesterday were stunned at the ice. Frances Wlodarczyk, 25, from Exeter, a member of the city's rowing club, said: "I have never seen anything like this before. I am worried about the birds which might be stuck and that they will struggle to get food. The Canal Basin is that thick with ice, you could probably walk on it."