East Lothian firefighters rescue adorable ducklings after they were trapped in a drain

A brood of adorable ducklings have had a lucky escape after they were saved by burly firefighters after getting trapped in a drain at the weekend.

The nine baby ducks were found stuck in the deep drain by a passing mum and daughter on a busy road near Haddington, East Lothian, at around midday on Sunday, May 26.

Firefighters rescued the ducklings from a drain at a road near Haddington on Sunday. | AL

Firefighters were called out to rescue the young birds and all were plucked safely from the dirty drain and taken to recover at the Scottish SPCA’s national wildlife rescue centre, near Alloa.

Zena Trendell spotted a dead adult duck on the roadway while taking her midwife daughter Anna Cameron to her work at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on Sunday morning.

The firefighters and SSPCA member at the scene on Sunday. | AL

Zena, from Ballencrieff, near Longniddry, said: “We spotted an dead adult bird on the road as I was taking my daughter to work early on Sunday. She asked me to check on my way back home to see if there were any ducklings around and after I stopped the car I spotted the young birds trapped in the drain.

“It’s a busy road so I decided to call the Scottish SPCA who came out quickly and as we couldn’t lift the heavy drain cover it was decided to call in the fire service. They arrived with full sirens and lights going and soon managed to gain access to the drain well.

“The guys were really great and managed to rescue the birds very quickly though one little one did cause a bit of problems by being shy and not wanting to come out. The firefighters said it was a nice job for them compared to what they usually attend to.”

The rescued ducklings were placed in this box and taken to safety. | AL

The ducklings were safely boxed up and taken away to be checked over by the Scottish SPCA.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 12.58pm on Sunday to reports of a duckling trapped in a drain on the A6137 near Haddington, East Lothian. Operations Control mobilised one appliance to assist with the rescue of the ducklings, which was handed into the care of the Scottish SPCA.”