Denmead trio rescue 12 ducklings stuck down a drain - and reunite them with their worried mother
A DAILY walk led to a daring rescue after a Denmead couple found 12 ducklings stuck down a drain - and reunited them with their worried mother.
Alex and Alexandra von Harten were strolling by a nearby lake on Tuesday when they heard a duck quacking more than usual, with only three babies in tow.
After an initial search around the area to see why it was distressed, the pair carried on home but Alexandra kept thinking about why the duck was upset.
The 26-year-old said: ‘It wouldn’t stop quacking so I thought there’s something wrong with it - it’s either trying to cross the road or it’s lost a duckling.
‘I couldn’t stop thinking about the duck and I would be really upset if it was hit by a car or something.’
They returned to the pond and found the duck was gone, but soon heard the sound of a dozen ducklings which had dropped through a hole in a drain cover.
Alexandra said: ‘It was so sweet, they were all huddled together - it’s lucky they didn’t go down the other hole really.
‘We always see these kind of things and never think it’ll be us doing something like that.’
Fearless husband Alex, 32, jumped into the drain to rescue them, with help from their friend Patrick Tanner, who is living with the couple.
After being unable to find the worried mother duck, the trio took the fluffy birds home to the bath to warm up and check them over.
Tattoo artist Alex and Patrick, 29, headed back out with a video recording of the ducklings, to try and find the mother.
Alexandra said: ‘She just came streaming across the pond quacking. We half wished we could have kept them but I don’t know what we would have done with 12 ducks!
‘We love animals, it’s just one of those things when you see animals in distress you want to help them.’
A video was captured to show the moment the lost babies were reunited with their mother and returned to the pond, all thanks to the kind-hearted rescuers.