Hot Fuzz moment as Swan caught on M25 by Jimmy’s Farm director

Police officers were spared a Hot Fuzz moment after the park director of a popular Suffolk farm rescued a swan from the M25. The swan had somehow found its way onto the M25 and while Jimmy’s Farm park director Stevie Sheppard was sitting in traffic, he decided to go and save the swan at the “relief” of the officers. Mr Sheppard said: “I was on the M25 in traffic because of the Just Stop Oil protestors, and I looked to my right-hand side and I saw a car completely swerve and then just saw a police car flying down the road to slow traffic.

Following reports of a swan on the M25, officers were relieved to receive help from @JimmysFarmHQ who managed to safely pick up the swan and return it to the canal.

Thanks again for the help.
C1 RPU

— Essex Roads Policing (@EPRoadsPolicing) November 10, 2022

“Officers are not trained to pick swans up, and I could tell from their faces that they thought it was too big and they weren’t sure what to do.” Mr Sheppard has been working with animals for the last 18 years, so was able to offer his services to the officers. He continued: “Birds watch movement, so I used one hand to distract it, and with the other hand, I grabbed the swan at the base of the wing and tucked the wings under my arms and got him in seconds which was nice.

“Luckily enough I had the Jimmy’s Farm truck so I popped the swan in the back and got a police escort up the M25 to release it into a local canal.” Jimmy’s Farm park director Stevie Sheppard (Image: Jimmy’s Farm) The scene is reminiscent of the 2007 police comedy Hot Fuzz starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, when the two leads try and catch an escaped swan, a recurring joke throughout the film.

Mr Sheppard said: “I have been inundated with the Hot Fuzz clips and pictures and lines of ‘No luck catching them swans then’.

“It was initially quite funny watching all the officers trying to decide what to do, one officer walked round the other side to lead it back, and they were all looking at each other wondering who goes, so the relief as soon as I went to help was good.”

The swan was returned to a nearby canal (Image: Newsquest)