A rogue swan waddling its way towards Aylsham town centre was headed off at the pass by two vets, a farming expert - and a barricade of wheelie bins.
The maverick bird, which eventually reached Aylsham's landmark Soame Pump, within yards of Market Place, was finally captured when a curtain was thrown over it.
It was later safely released into a millpond.
The half-hour wild swan chase began just before 2pm today as vet Helen Boast, of Westover Veterinary Centre, Hainford, drove out of Aylsham on the Blickling Road and spotted the bird in front of her, holding up traffic as it wandered down the highway.
Grabbing her clipboard, Mrs Boast, 29, leapt out and set about shooing the swan off the main road.
She also summoned help from her Westover vet colleague, and bird expert, Elliott Simpson, 24, who drove over from Hainford.
Meanwhile Michael Pollitt, 58, the EDP's former farming editor, was also held up by the swan as he drove home from the launch, at Blickling Hall, of Aylsham Show's Norfolk Heroes Food and Drink competition. He went to help the rescue party.
Mr Simpson said they managed to corner it in a residential side street, The Loke.
'Luckily it was bin day and all the wheelie bins were out so we made a safety fence out of them,' he added.
A resident lent them a curtain to throw over the bird and he was successfully captured.
Mr Simpson then examined the young male swan for injuries or signs of illness before a sack was put over the bird's head to make it easier for him to be transported and released.
'He was hissing a bit but he seemed fine - just lost and hungry,' Mr Simpson added. 'I gave him a clean 'bill' of health!'
The swan, named Michael by Mrs Boast in honour of Mr Pollitt, was set free by the millpond between Moorgate and Itteringham, near Aylsham, and swam off happily.
The chase was captured on camera by Australian veterinary student Sarah Hanlon, who was travelling with Mrs Boast.
Mr Pollitt said that, by coincidence, he and the two Westover vets knew each other as they were all members of Stalham Farmers' Club.
He added: 'Funnily enough the club's emblem is a swan-necked hoe.'
• A jay-walking swan caused a traffic jam on Sunday when it wandered across the B1150 at Captain's Pond, Westwick, near North Walsham. Two police officers managed to shoo it out of danger.
• Have you got an unusual animal story? Contact alex.hurrell@archant.co.uk
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