Watch as cute ducklings get rescued in East Sussex

Traffic was brought to a halt in East Sussex on Friday (June 19), in a bid to save a mother duck and her ten ducklings.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Residents of the Barley Mow static caravan park in Uckfield alerted East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) when they spotted the little family of ducks wandering towards the main road.

The road was closed for five minutes to ensure the mallard duck and her ducklings were not run over.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Trevor Weeks MBE, founder and operations director of WRAS, said: “Rescuers attended quickly, kept the family contained at the park, and assessed the area and checked maps.”

During the rescue operation, Mr Weeks said ponds could be seen in various directions on the map, making it very difficult to know which direction the mother duck wanted to head in.

He added: “If we catch her and relocate her she will just up and walk when we are not looking and potentially get run over. So we need to give her some space and let her decide where she wants to go, unfortunately this will mean escorting her out onto a small section of the main road.”

Two veterinary ambulances with flashing orange beacons were used to warn and slow traffic down.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rescuers Julie Stafford and Ellie Langridge, with the help of local residents, let the mother duck start walking.

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) at the scene in UckfieldEast Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) at the scene in Uckfield
East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) at the scene in Uckfield

“She was reluctant to walk out of the caravan park, but she would have only ended up at a dead end if she didn’t head out,” said Ellie.

“Once she was out on the road traffic was slowed down and stopped so we could get her safely along.”

The mother duck walked straight past the turning to the first pond on her right and wanted to head along the road, Ellie said. She then started turning to go into the field on the opposite side of the road.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Once the family of ducks were off the road, traffic was free to proceed again.

The duck and ducklings on the loose in Uckfield. Picture: WRASThe duck and ducklings on the loose in Uckfield. Picture: WRAS
The duck and ducklings on the loose in Uckfield. Picture: WRAS

“I wasn’t overly convinced that she wanted to go into the field, and she quickly turned right, staying parallel with the road,” said Mr Weeks.

“Rescuer Julie stayed on the pavement in case she tried to come back out onto the road.”

Luckily the mother duck and all her ten ducklings started wandering across the field to one of the local ponds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

WRAS thanked the public for their co-operation and patience during the rescue.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.