Tyne Tunnel traffic disrupted by runaway squirrel and wandering swan
Traffic was held back after a squirrel decided to cross the Tyne through the tunnel normally used by hundreds of vehicles
by Tony Henderson · ChronicleLiveIt’s been a wild few days for staff at the Tyne Tunnels.
In the first incident, a grey squirrel decided to run the length of the tunnel from Jarrow to Howdon. Two vehicles - a van and a car - spotted the squirrel and drove slowly behind it, followed by other traffic.
The tunnel control room, which could see the squirrel on screen, held up approaching traffic as the creature took 13 minutes to make its journey of discovery, ending up amid woodland on the north bank of the Tyne.
“The squirrel created a rolling roadblock through the tunnel, as the two drivers at the front slowed down so to not harm it,” said a Tunnels spokesperson. "Once the squirrel was causing disruption to the traffic, our control room was alerted and traffic was then held.
“Thanks to the drivers for their consideration and to our team who ensured he or she had a safe exit.”
The next day, a swan was seen taking in the sights at the Jarrow tunnel entrance, also causing some disruption.
“The swan wondered in front of traffic and the duty controller held the traffic whilst two of our customer operations operatives and a customer tried to catch the swan and get it to safety,” said the spokesperson. It was later released into the River Don
In April the tunnel had to be closed for a short time during Monday morning rush hour traffic to rescue a family of ducks that wandered across the approach road at Jarrow.
Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community
Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community for all the latest news Northumberland news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Both carriageways were closed while the rescue operation took place as the duck and her ducklings being picked up with the help of police and put into the back of a van, before being released in the River Don area.