10:00am Sunday 5th July 2009
FIVE ducklings were rescued from a sewage plant after mistaking it for a pond.
The birds waddled into the treatment tank at Southern Water’s Ringmer Wastewater Treatment Works with their parents.
They are believed to have been there for more than a day before they were spotted on Thursday.
The tank was drained and RSPCA officers Steve Wickham and Rachel Bell took the birds to the charity’s rescue centre at Patcham, near Brighton.
Mr Wickham said: “It was certainly one of the smelliest jobs. The adults flew away but the babies kept swimming under the water so they were hard to catch.
“We are planning to release them back into a lagoon near the treatment plant.”
The tank contained relatively clean water at the final stage of treatment.
A Southern Water spokeswoman said: “We are grateful for the RSPCA’s help especially as the surroundings weren’t the most pleasant.”
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