Signs put up by a parish council urging dogwalkers to keep their pets on leads have been 'ripped down' amid concerns of future swan attacks.

Alex Perry, who lives in Wooburn Green, said there has been a great deal of local concern about the dangers posed to swans in a nearby nature reserve after dog attacks in previous years.

She said members of the community were facing "constant challenges" to protect a family of swans who had made the River Wye in Wooburn Green their home.

"The family have been on the stretch of river in the Warren Nature Reserve for ages but around three years ago, a dog attacked them, biting the mother swan on her neck and puncturing the lung of a cygnet.

"They didn't come back for several years after that but they're back now with seven babies and we really want to help to keep them safe."

Wooburn Green and Bourne End Parish Council previously included a warning to dogwalkers to keep their pets on two-metre leads on a sign near the entrance of the nature reserve, but after a near-miss "aggressive" dog attack last week, they took greater measures to discourage owners.

"The council put up huge laminated signs telling people to keep their dogs on a lead because of swans nesting in the area - but the following morning the signs had been ripped up into pieces and dumped in the bushes."

She added: "We're trying to protect not only the swans but ducks and ducklings, the moorhens and their chicks and all the wildlife that calls the park their home.

"If people are this opposed to looking after their local area, what hope do we have for the future of our community? It's all up the swanny."

Fellow Wooburn Green resident Iona Stayt shared her concerns about off-lead dogs in the area on NextDoor on Saturday, June 10.

She wrote: “I just walked my dog on the lead along Dalton’s path in Wooburn Green and saw that the large signs asking for dogs to be kept on leads because of the young swan family have been blatantly ripped off the posts.

“I really don’t understand why someone who is presumably walking a dog can disregard such a simple request. A dog has already attacked the swans and keeping them on leads will prevent this from happening again."

In April, local charity Swan Support rescued a swan, which later died in their care, from Wharf Lane in Bourne End after what was described as a 'savage' dog attack. 

Speaking at the time, Treatment and Rescue Centre Co-ordinator, Wendy Hermon said: "All we ask is that people keep their dogs on leads when there is a high chance of wildlife being around. What's worse is that some people think it's acceptable to let their dogs chase swans, assuming they'll just fly away.

"It makes me lost for words, that people can be so ignorant of the consequences of letting their dogs chase after vulnerable wildlife."