A family of geese were helped to safety after police took a gander following reports they were playing chicken with rush hour traffic.
Concerned passers-by in the city were all of a flutter after seeing that the mother goose and goslings who had flocked from their riverside nest to a car park just off London Road this morning and were dicing with death on the road.
Fearing the feathered creatures could be hurt or could cause cars to crash, a call was made to the Nottinghamshire control room and officers stuck their beaks in to their first job of the day.
PCs Charlotte Webster and Camilla Edwards-Cleaves have been on some wild goose chases in their time, but they quickly found the birds and set to work in a flying formation to bring the family to safety.
PC Webster said: “At around 8am, this was our first job of the day and it certainly was something a bit different to start the day off.
“When we got there, we immediately went to nearby shops and bought some fresh greens and seeds. The geese, fortunately for us, happened to be really friendly and there was such a cute moment where they were eating from our hands.
“We were there for quite a while just making sure everything was calm and then we began laying a bit of trail, which they were really good and followed all the way back to the river.”
The officers took some photos and video of the geese after they were brought to safety.
PC Edwards-Cleaves said: “This was definitely a really lovely job to kickstart the day.
“Once we were there and we knew they weren’t going to be in any danger, or cause the public any danger, we could focus on making sure they got back to their home.
“As we were feeding them and coaxing them back to the river, they were jumping all over our boots and it really brought a smile to our faces.
“The geese are quite sensitive to noises which can often happen near to where they’ve made a home so I think this was a case of them getting scared and unfortunately wandering into the busy part of their surroundings.”
