THERE'S been something strange about the swans swimming about on the Thames for the past couple of years, they have slowly been changing colour in front of our eyes.

Some say that being in the pink is a good thing, sailing along and doing well for yourself. But our swans would tell you different.

No one really knows why, but a bacteria (Corynebacterium) is affecting the colour of the swan's feathers.

Instead of being brilliant white they are becoming a slight shade of pink.

As well as that it is also affecting their immune systems, which has caused many of them to die over the winter.

The bacteria, dubbed Pink Feather Flamingo Syndrome, which makes them almost the same shade as their tropical cousins, has worried nature experts until now.

Thanks to a scientific break-through after two years of tests a solution may have been found for the long-suffering swans - in the shape of Fairy Liquid.

It seems that the UK's favourite washing up liquid not only keeps your hands as soft as your face, but also keeps your swans sparkling as well as the washing up.

Eton-based charity Swan Lifeline sent samples of blood and feathers from infected swans to The Regal Swan Team in the US, which found that the bacterium responsible was easily treatable with washing detergent and found the instantly recognisable household item to be the most effective.

After a bath in water mixed with Fairy Liquid the swans started perking up and their natural colouring started to shine through again within two weeks.

However, Wendy Hermon, 39, from Swan Lifeline, said: "This is not a cure.

"All that has happened is that the washing up liquid has washed away the colour, not destroyed the bacteria completely.

"We are still in the early stages of the treatment, and are still sending samples to America for tests on how to develop it."

American scientists are being invited over in July to participate in the annual census of the swan population on the Thames and to carry out more tests on the birds.