Ducklings saved in Luton after mother and siblings 'deliberately' killed by car

Seven ducklings have been saved after their mother and two siblings were run over.

Karen Hayward said she was told by about four people they were "deliberately" hit by a driver going "at speed" on Osborne Road, Luton.

The birds were gathered up by "three colleagues, some builders, a couple of passers by and myself" and were being looked after.

"In minutes we saw both the best and the worst of our society," she said.

Ms Hayward said at about 11:00 BST on Thursday the "frightened and scared chicks" were rounded up and put in a box.

She said she had to look under cars, bins and gates as they were so petrified they were running in different directions.

They were first spotted near the Vauxhall motors site, where she works, a few days ago.

People had been looking out for them she said and had even been directing traffic to let them pass, Ms Hayward said.

On the Spotted: Luton Facebook page she said of the driver: "To kill a mother and two of her babies for no reason whatsoever other than your own enjoyment is beyond belief."

Nickie Pearson, from Wildlife Welfare in Stevenage, said she was being "mum" to the babies and had been feeding them boiled eggs.

"Hearing them crying is breaking me, I am so angry that someone could be so callous," she said.

She is expecting to look after them for a few more days, then they will be released at a big pond with an aviary in Stevenage, and then into the wild.

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "Under the Road Traffic Act there is no requirement for a motorist to report a collision with wildlife, and unfortunately this is not something we could investigate."