Lucky duck! Rescuers save trapped bird from pipe after dramatic search mission

A duck had a quacking escape after being rescued from deep inside a narrow pipe at a water treatment works in Greater Manchester.

The stranded female mallard was discovered trapped six to seven feet down the pipe at a United Utilities wastewater site in Leigh, unable to spread her wings or move.

But in a twist worthy of a detective drama, rescuers first had to track down the bird’s exact location after receiving only an anonymous tip-off and a video clip of the distressed duck.

RSPCA deputy chief inspectors Jess Pierce and Beth Fazackerley launched the unusual search after a concerned worker reported the trapped bird on May 14.

The pair initially headed to the wrong United Utilities site in nearby Urmston after being given only the company name and footage of the pipe.

Eventually, the officers matched the video to the correct location at the Hope Carr Terrace treatment works in Leigh, where the exhausted duck was finally found wedged deep inside the narrow pipe beneath a metal grid.

Using a net attached to a long search-and-rescue pole, Jess carefully hooked the bird to safety.

Remarkably, despite her ordeal, the duck was completely uninjured and was later released onto nearby water along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal following advice from the RSPCA’s wildlife experts.

Jess said: “This poor duck was stuck tight and unable to spread her wings or move about, six to seven feet down a narrow pipe.

“We don’t know how she got in there but she had probably been there for 24 hours, so it was fortunate that she was spotted as the pipe was partly obscured under a stretch of metal grid.

“It took us a while to find her as we drew a blank at another United Utilities water treatment site nearby. We only had the video to go on as the staff member had reported it anonymously.

“Eventually, we were able to match that up with the pipe at the Leigh works where the duck was trapped and carry out the rescue.”

The charity is now urging people to keep an eye out for animals in distress this summer and to report trapped wildlife as quickly as possible.