A FOOTPATH along the Brook in Dawlish has been cordoned off as the town’s iconic Black Swans have begun laying again. 

One egg has been laid in pampas grass last weekend and is being guarded by dad Bert. 

Dawlish waterfowl wardens have set up barriers around the site as a precaution to protect the birds. 

A spokesman for the wardens said: ‘Please do not feed them while they are sitting on the eggs on this nesting site. 

‘The wardens have tried to get them to nest elsewhere but they are determined to stay where they are.’

Passersby are being asked to be mindful of the birds while they are nesting. 

The breeding pair of swans have been using a specially created nesting site at Tuck’s Plot which was deliberately built at a high level to avoid being washed away during any storms or high running water. 

A few days before, the wardens took the decision to move three of the juvenile swans, which hatched last year, to a new local home.

The spokesman said: ‘They were increasingly being chased by Bert into the road and other area and with the new cygnets doing very, very well it was decided the best course of action was to rehome them.’

The three swans are now happily settled in their new home.