Isle of Wight: Duck stuck in drainage pipe rescued

The two-man Underground Service Engineering team rescued the bird

Plumbers were left surprised when they were called to rescue a duck stuck in a drain.

Underground Service Engineering staff rushed to Froghill farm at Sandford, on the Isle of Wight, on Saturday night after the owner called for help to rescue the stricken bird.

Company director Frazer Lowe said it was "the strangest thing" he had found in a drain during his nine-year career.

It took more than five hours to successfully retrieve the duck.

Mr Lowe said he initially thought the call was "a joke" but he soon realised "the seriousness of it" and said he was determined to save it.

He and his colleague Cole Grundy immediately went to the site and located the bird using a CCTV camera.

A CCTV camera was used to locate the duck

They then put some water down the drain to allow the duck to move and returned in daylight the following morning when they rescued the duck after a five-hour effort.

"We wanted to make sure that we got her out alive," Mr Lowe said.

The 25-year-old explained that Emily Thompson, the owner of the duck, thought it had flown away about two weeks earlier.

But she then heard a noise coming from a drain pipe and realised the bird was stuck inside.

"We were not going to give up on the situation until it was done, we needed to get her out," Mr Lowe said.

Ms Thompson, 31, who lives at the farm where she runs the shop, said the six-month-old bird did not suffer any injuries.

"I was relieved that she came out and was in one piece and relatively energetic," Ms Thompson said.

She added that the duck was a bit underweight but has since put weight on.

Cole Grundy was one of those who helped rescue the duck