Ducks rescued after oil spill near business park

The 11 rescued ducks have had their feathers carefully cleaned

A suspected oil leak has led to the rescue of 11 ducks from a stream and pond near a business park.

The RSPCA and volunteers from Warsop Wildlife Rescue Team worked to retrieve the birds from the polluted water near Belle Eau Business Park in Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire.

Thick black oil was covering half the pond when rescuers attended the scene, the cause of which is now being investigated by the Environment Agency, which has been clearing up the spill.

The ducks were taken to Warsop Wildlife Rescue, where the oil was washed from their feathers, and they will remain there until they are well enough to be released into the wild.

Seven of the ducks were rescued on 28 January, and a further one was saved the following day.

The RSPCA said a further three ducks had been rescued since then, and the location continued to be monitored in case more wildlife was affected by the spill.

The ducks were found in a pond near Belle Eau Business Park

RSPCA animal rescue officer Daniel Holman said: "We are grateful to everyone involved in the rescue of these birds.

"This rescue was a great example of people coming together, and it is more important than ever that we work together as a sector to help our wildlife."

Glenn Slaney, from Warsop Wildlife Rescue, added that "incidents like this should never happen".

He said: "We would also like to give a big shout-out to staff at nearby Lineage for doing all they could to help and going above and beyond by directing us to the ducks, blocking areas off, and for making the report initially - they even rescued one of the ducks.

"They were so concerned and did all they could to help."