THE story of swans on the Itchen Navigation has not always had a happy ending.

Last year one swan was so aggressive in protecting its nest on the canal that the landowners Winchester College got permission to kill the eggs and remove the birds.

So Belgarum was surprised and pleased to see six swans queuing up as if for a bus at the college boat club on Domum Road, Wharf Hill.

Let's hope the college rowers do not experience any of these swans defending their nest next spring in a similar fashion