A pair of mute swans have broken records by hatching twelve cygnets at London’s Wetland Centre on Putney Common.

This is the highest number from one pair of swans that the Wetland Centre has ever seen in its thirteen year history, and according to the British Trust for Ornithology, twelve cygnets is at the very top end of the range for a brood.

They were first seen at the end of last month by Richard Bullock, London Wetland Centre’s ecologist.

Mr Bullock: "It’s wonderful to see so many healthy cygnets after such a long, cold spring.

"There have been rare, recorded instances in the past of swans adopting cygnets from other broods, but we have no reason to believe that that has happened in this case."

Mute swans typically lay between four and seven eggs, so twelve is truly exceptional.

The lucky parents are doing an excellent job of taking care of their many cygnets, and staff at the Wetland Centre are confident that they will live a long and happy life.

Last year the Centre was voted Britain’s favourite nature reserve by readers of Countryfile Magazine and is home to a range of wildlife including birds, water voles, bats and amphibians.