THERE was a happy ending yesterday for a mute swan struck by a hit-and-run driver.

The bird suffered serious injuries after being hit near the MetroCentre, Gateshead, last month. Jules and Roy Morris, of The Phoenix Guinea Pig Sanctuary, in Gateshead, took the swan to a vet.

Its injuries were so severe it had a wing amputated. But, after recovering, the bird was taken to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust yesterday, at Washington, Wearside.

"He'll never fly but he could live for another 25 years here," said centre manager Chris Francis