Abandoned ducklings rescued by rangers in Hailsham

Ten baby ducks were discovered in a pond in Cowbeach, near Hailsham, with their mum nowhere in sight.

Residents of a nearby property called East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service when the mother duck did not return.

Its rescuers clambered on to boats and scooped up nine of the ten ducklings in one go.

But the final duckling proved a trickier customer and it took many attempts before he was reunited with his brothers and sisters.

“It was an absolute stroke of luck to catch nine of the ten in one go,” said co-ordinator Trevor Weeks.

“That rarely happens when catching them on water.”

A rescuer paddles along the pond to rescue the final duckling

The ducklings have been taken to the service’s hospital in Whitesmith, near Lewes.

They joined the 50 ducklings already being reared at the rescue centre.

Thirteen have recently been released back into the wild.

The duckling rescue was one of several undertaken by wildlife rangers in the past month.

Earlier this month a mother and her ducklings had to be rescued in Uckfield as they had fallen down drains.

Meanwhile in Ringmer some ducks had “got into trouble” on a busy main road.

Another duck family was caught waddling through Stone Cross near Eastbourne before they were rescued by rangers.