A WOMAN was horrified when she saw staff at a Bradford park discover the body of a 'much-loved' swan.

Helena Fruin claims the animal had been "decapitated" after seeing it be scooped out of the Horton Park pond on Tuesday, April 19.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The remains of an animal was found in the pond at Horton Park.The remains of an animal was found in the pond at Horton Park.

Helena - who walks her two huskies through the park every day - says just after Christmas she noticed "two beautiful swans" in the pond that she had never seen before.

She is pretty confident that it was the youngest who had sadly died.

Helena said: "I was gutted and livid when I saw what had happened. It is horrible. I just can’t get my head around who would do that.

"I hate how that park is treated. It just keeps getting worse and worse. There is always lots of litter and fly-tipping in that pond."

Although West Yorkshire Police would not comment on the matter, Bradford Council confirmed they had retrieved the body of the swan.

A spokesperson, said: “This is a tragic incident that we understand was reported to the police by a visitor to the park.

“Our staff retrieved the body of the swan and took it away to avoid any further distress to visitors.”