Sixteen swans drenched in a mixture of oil and diesel after a bus fire fuel leak spilled into the Hogsmill river are to be safely returned to their home today.

From Friday: Swans covered in oil and diesel after Kingston bus fire fuel leak spills into the Hogsmill river

Volunteers at the Swan Sanctuary, based in Shepperton, stepped in after members of the public noticed the swans covered in the mixture, just yards away from where a bus had caught fire earlier in the day in the Market Place in Kingston on Friday, December 2.

Some of the mixture had managed to make its way into the Hogsmill, despite firefighters laying down sand and mats to prevent the liquid spreading.

Volunteers had wrapped the swans in protective bags and transported them to the sanctuary for cleaning.

Howard Smith, a trustee of the sanctuary, said the swans were "doing fine" and were ready to be reintroduced to the Hogsmill today.

He said: “They’re going back this afternoon. They’ve been cleaned up and they were taken off from the area so quickly they didn’t manage to ingest any. Although they were dirty, that was all.

“It takes about 20 to 25 minutes per bird to get the waste off them, though it’s up to them [the swans] to get them to waterproof themselves.”

Surrey Comet:

Mr Smith said that although all the swans were all doing well, one other swan who had managed to avoid swimming in the oil had to be rescued on Saturday from the Hogsmill after a fishing lure and hook was embedded in its neck.

Luckily for the male swan the lure had not pierced his throat and he was given antibiotics and pain relief, and will be taken back to the Hogsmill with the other swans today.

Richard Maile, senior environment officer at the Environment Agency, said: "The Environment Agency responded to an incident on Friday in Kingston-upon-Thames following a bus fire. Diesel from the bus entered the Hogsmill near where it joins with the River Thames.

"Our officers worked with other professional partners to establish what effect the pollution may have had on the local water environment and assisted in mitigating any impact.

"We alerted Thames Water Utilities of the presence of diesel oil in their surface water drainage system and they arranged for the sewer to be cleaned of any residual oil.

"A number of swans were removed to safety by members of the Swan Sanctuary. No further reports of oil on the watercourses was received since the incident."