'Have corona b****': Yorkshire RSPCA officer spat on by youths while saving swan

An RSPCA officer was spat on by youths in Hull who said "have corona b****" while she was rescuing a swan.
Leanne Honess-Heather was rescuing a swan when the attack happenedLeanne Honess-Heather was rescuing a swan when the attack happened
Leanne Honess-Heather was rescuing a swan when the attack happened

Animal Welfare Officer Leanne Honess-Heather was helping a swan who was tangled in fishing line close to Rush Lyvars Fishing lake on Saturday when she was approached by five boys aged 16 or 17.

Ms Honess-Heather was on her own wrestling with the swan on the ground and asked the boys to stand back for the swan’s sake and their own.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “They seemed to take offence to this, which led to two of the group spitting directly into my face, going in my mouth and eyes, as they yelled “have Corona b****” at me.”

In the UK, spitting is defined as battery under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and can carry a prison sentence for adults convicted of this crime.

Ms Honess-Heather added: “Like many other frontline services, most of my team are still out during this crisis, trying our best to continue to do our job, tending to, collecting and rescuing injured animals.

“It's really challenging working in these difficult conditions and we are doing our very best to keep ourselves and the public safe, while helping the animals who most need us, so this was a really upsetting experience.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I'm happy to say the swan had no long-term injuries and, after being cut free of the fishing line at the vets and being checked over, I released him back to the river.”

The RSPCA is providing an emergency-only service to animals through the coronavirus crisis in the wake of Government advice.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.