A FAMILY of swans blocked the A27 after “mistaking the road for a river”.

Shocked drivers were forced to slow down to avoid the unwitting birds as they waddled down the busy highway.

An AA spokesman said the swans had caused some congestion in the area.

He explained that “swans and geese have an unhappy habit of mistaking roads for rivers while they are flying over them”.

Fortunately police were quickly on hand to save the birds on the Westhampnett Bypass near Chichester after being contacted by a concerned passerby.

One officer from Chichester Police, who attended the scene, joked about the unusual nature of the call-out.

He said: “Arresting criminals one minute, saving swans the next.

“Thank you for your patience commuters.”

He also shared an image of a fellow officer releasing the swans back into a nearby lake.

But some passersby were quick to see the funny side of the incident.

One witness compared the event to a scene from the 2007 comedy Hot Fuzz in which a police officer is tasked with catching a runaway swan in a small West Country village.

He said: “Police had to deal with ‘more than just the one swan’ this time by the looks of it, well done guys.”