STAFF at Chartwell have been left devastated by the deaths of the property's two resident black swans.

Eb and Flo, who were around 18 months old, were killed over the Christmas period, despite the garden team's best efforts to keep them safe.

Giles Palmer, head gardener at the Westerham property, said: "We are particularly concerned that Eb appears to have been killed by a dog.

"His death has been greatly upsetting for everyone at Chartwell and we would urge our visitors to keep their dogs under close control."

Eb's unnecessary and upsetting death left widowed swan Flo distraught and vulnerable and it was not long before she was killed by a fox.

Visitor services manager Phoebe Vincent said staff at the National Trust property, which was home to Sir Winston Churchill, had become attached to the swans since their arrival in April last year.

A competition was launched after the swans' arrival, asking visitors to come up with names for them.

The original black swans at Chartwell were a gift to Sir Winston from Phillip Sassoon in 1927. The swans were regularly killed by foxes and mink but were always replaced.

The replacements included a pair sent as a gift from the Government of Western Australia.

Following the deaths of Eb and Flo, new black swans have been found for Chartwell, with Mr Palmer travelling all the way to Devon in the recent snow to collect two birds.

The new swans are being kept safe in a special enclosure until the worst of the recent bad weather has passed.

The National Trust said visitors to Chartwell can find out more about black swans during the half-term holiday.

The garden, exhibition, shop and restaurant, at the site off Mapleton Road, are open from today until Sunday between 11am and 4pm.