A swan died in a sluice gate on the Mill stream in Arundel despite a heroic effort by RSPCA inspector Tony Pritchard to rescue it.

He could not open the gate to reach the bird and it did not have the strength to get away.

Mr Pritchard is now asking the Environment Agency to put a grid across the area to prevent further accidents.

A dog died in a nearby sluice last year. Who is to say it might not be a child next time. Fast-flowing water, even in a stream as small as this, can be extremely dangerous, forming a trap from which it is hard to escape.