Video: Dramatic lake rescue after ice traps birds

Worried members of the public had spotted several geese sat on the frozen surface of the lake in Worsthorne over the last few days and contacted the RSPCA to help.

A specialist water rescue team arrived from Liverpool, and the Burnley Express was on hand to film their efforts.

Animal collection officer Derek Hampson, wearing specialist gear, waded into the lake cracking the inch thick ice as he went.

But his presence in the water seemed to do the trick as the trapped goose lost its cool and released itself.

RSPCA chief inspector Beth Clements, who helped in the rescue attempt, said: “Luckily the goose freed itself, but it has now flown out of reach.

“We plan to come back because it appears to be slightly injured. It won’t have eaten for a few days and is probably exhausted.”

Chief inspector Clements said the plummeting temperatures over the last few days had seen the lake freeze and refreeze over.

Derek said the geese on the lake would have originally been domestic birds and as such are heavier than other breeds.

He said: “We don’t get called out to too many trapped geese, but this one appears to have got into some difficulty.

“The ice was over an inch thick and I was having to break it with the weight of my body.”

Mr Colin Robinson (75), who has been a regular walker around the lake for more than 30 years, said he had never seen it so heavily frozen before.