Mr Ingram (34), a university lecturer, said the beach was “effectively our front garden”, where the couple’s three children had been playing since the swan was removed.

He said, “Somebody local saw it and took the precaution of putting up a makeshift notice to say not to touch the bird until it was taken away.

“They contacted Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and it was removed pretty quickly afterwards, I’d say within 24 hours.

“In the week since we haven’t thought anything about it until last night when we heard about the bird flu scare on the news.”

Ms Bracken (35), a psychologist, said, “You do see dead birds occasionally on the coast, so there was no immediate concern.

“It’s been eight days since the swan was found and I would have thought the beach would have been cleaned or that someone from the council or Defra would have come and spoken to us or put a leaflet through our door, but nothing.

“I’m not alarmed or panicking but when a dead swan is found with bird flu on your doorstep you do get a bit concerned.

“We were sitting watching the TV, hearing about restriction zones. We would like more information, to know the implications for us.”

The man who reported the swan to the authorities, Dan Young, described the dead bird as “a mangled heap of feathers”.

The St Andrews University researcher, whose work includes aspects of virology, said he had been alerted by friend Tina Briscoe.

“I contacted Defra and within an hour the duty vet got back to me asking where it was and saying they would pick it up.”

Mr Young added, “It had obviously been dead for a while, a few days probably. It had been in the water for a while.

“It had obviously been pecked at or eaten by something. It was torn open.”

Asked if he suspected the swan could be a victim of bird flu, he added, “Obviously it’s at the back of everybody’s mind at the moment.”

Mr Young said he had not touched the bird but admitted he had “a bit of anxiety” about the discovery.

Ms Briscoe, who contacted police after spotting the dead bird, said she was told to contact an animal welfare charity.

“They said if it was a heron it would be all right, as it might have died of natural causes, but if it was a swan it needed to be reported to Defra or a local vet,” she said.

The St Andrews University technician was concerned at the time taken to remove the creature.

“It was reported in the evening to Defra and they collected the bird around lunchtime about 12.30 or so, the following day,” she said.

“I would have expected a quicker reaction, particularly because in the tidal water it could have been washed away, or cats could have picked on it.”

The secretary of Anstruther Community Council, Martin Dibley, said most local people appeared to be in the dark over what was happening, and there was little apparent activity.

He said there were no big egg or poulty producers in the three-kilometre protection zone, although he was aware of people keeping “backyard chickens”.

Meanwhile, other residents and holidaymakers in Cellardyke, insisted there was nothing to be afraid of.

Neighbours stood bemused on their doorsteps overlooking the harbour after awaking to find their home in the full glare of the national media spotlight.

A lone policeman tried as best he could to manage the traffic of television satellite trucks. Children played on bicycles in the harbour area.

Local councillor Elizabeth Riches said people were not panicking.

The Anstruther and East Neuk councillor, said, “This is the moment that everyone in the country has dreaded. But people have got to keep a sense of normality.

“The dangers to humans come from picking up a dead bird, fingers coming into contact with feathers and wiping hands across faces. Nobody does that here.

“We’ve got to carry on as normal and there is no need for restrictions here or the disinfectant troughs that we saw during foot-and-mouth because the only restriction is on the movement of poultry.”

Tina Hewat (40), from Edinburgh, said, “I was worried about bringing the kids down here but it’s easy to blow everything out of proportion, I’m sure it’s perfectly safe.”

Local resident John Brown (58) said he hoped the scare would not affect tourism.

Catherine Brown, from Edinburgh, holidaying in the village with her daughter, said there was nothing to fear.

Ms Brown said, “It’s important not to sensationalise this. There’s absolutely no risk to humans, they keep on telling us, and we certainly won’t let this stop us eating poultry.”