Cute little duckies will be hand-reared

Fourteen ducklings are being hand-reared after their mother was killed as they crossed a busy road.

The fledglings were seen by a motorist shortly after the accident happened along the A2, near School Lane in Bapchild on Tuesday.

Ray Allibone, of Diamond Court, Sheerness, is looking after the ducklings at his home after he was called to come and help by a local vets.

They had been contacted by a woman who had seen the family by the side of the road.

Mr Allibone said he knew as soon as he arrived that the mother mallard was not going to make it and she was later taken to the vets and put down.

He and the woman gathered the babies together and Mr Allibone, 56, will hand-rear them for two to three weeks before giving them to a sanctuary where they will eventually be released into the wild.

He explained that after being kept warm by their mother for 36 hours, she would then head to water and this was where they were going when they walked across the road.

He said: "It is sad but the other side is that if they are hand-reared 100 per cent will survive whereas in the wild they are often caught by predators.

"I would like to thank the public for their help and patience as we had to hold up some of the traffic for a bit.

"I'd also like to thank the woman that stopped and helped me collect the ducklings up - they were quite manic but they have settled down well now."