Mountain rescue team saves ducklings from drowning

A mountain rescue team had an unusual call-out when they were asked to help a mother duck and her ducklings.

The feathered family had found their way into a pit of water that was on a construction site belonging to Severn Trent.

The construction firm working there asked Derby Mountain Rescue Team - which happens to have its garage next door - to assist.

The volunteers saved eight of the ducklings with the help of their water rescue sled, a big net and a bucket.

One of the ducklings had already drowned, but the others were taken to be cared for at a petting zoo after the mother flew off.

Mountain rescue volunteer David O'Sullivan said: "It's a shame one of them died but if we hadn't done something I think the others would have all died.

"There was no food, there was no ground for them to sit on, and there was no way of them getting out.

"We put the ducklings in a field for a bit and hoped the mother would come back but she didn't."

The rescue operation was in Duffield in Derbyshire on Saturday morning.

All of the people who work for Derby Mountain Rescue Team are unpaid volunteers.

They normally do search and rescue operations for humans, in partnership with the emergency services.

Only the day before rescuing the ducklings they helped a 14-year-old boy who had dislocated his knee while out walking with a group near Milldale.

The team's garage in Duffield is rented from Severn Trent but the site has problems with flooding.

However, a new base is currently being built next to the A52 outside Mackworth.

The team has raised more than £400,000 so far, and the fitting out process is likely to proceed as donations come in.

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