Duck rescued by firefighters in Westhoughton

6:30pm Tuesday 3rd July 2012 in News

Duck rescued by firefighters in Westhoughton Duck rescued by firefighters in Westhoughton

A DUCK that was balanced precariously in the overflow of a pond in Westhoughton was rescued by firefighters.

A fire engine from Leigh was called to the water near Abelia Road off Leigh Road at about 17.50pm yesterday.

The mallard was guarding a dead chick and was stuck in a dangerous position in an underground culvert.

Firefighters tried to reach the duck using a ladder, but were unable to reach it and called for support from their specialist water incident unit.

Crew manager Gabs Campbell said: "The duck was marooned really and was stuck in a fairly dangerous position.

"Obviously it wasn't in any immediate danger but any member of the public trying to free the mallard would have got into some real trouble.

"We were going to deploy the boat but we managed to get down to the water and free the duck before it was checked over by the RSPCA and then freed into a safer part of the water."

Comments (5)

10:36pm Tue 3 Jul 12

tommy says...

Glad my house didn't set on fire while these guys were pre-occupied with obviously more important things....
Glad my house didn't set on fire while these guys were pre-occupied with obviously more important things.... tommy

1:23am Wed 4 Jul 12

wild one says...

Agree with tommy......its called nature, its a cycle....what goes around?
Agree with tommy......its called nature, its a cycle....what goes around? wild one

7:16am Wed 4 Jul 12

JOHN HIGHAM says...

At least that woman in the picture knows what she is having for her tea......
At least that woman in the picture knows what she is having for her tea...... JOHN HIGHAM

12:05pm Wed 4 Jul 12

atlas123 says...

I think what they are saying is the duck would probably have got out itself once it realised the chick was dead and not worth guarding.

The problem was more this the stupidity of the humans who would probably go to the 'aid' of the duck. The same sort of type who phone 999 about a duck!

Afterall how many people do we hear of drowning/getting stuck in ice after going to "rescue" a dog in a river/pond/lake. While Bob is dead Rover is busy converting his next can of chum...
I think what they are saying is the duck would probably have got out itself once it realised the chick was dead and not worth guarding. The problem was more this the stupidity of the humans who would probably go to the 'aid' of the duck. The same sort of type who phone 999 about a duck! Afterall how many people do we hear of drowning/getting stuck in ice after going to "rescue" a dog in a river/pond/lake. While Bob is dead Rover is busy converting his next can of chum... atlas123

4:37pm Thu 5 Jul 12

JIMMT COLLINS says...

would look better crispy and covered in plum sauce mmmmm
would look better crispy and covered in plum sauce mmmmm JIMMT COLLINS

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