HOSPITAL security staff rescued seven ducklings who were stranded down a drain as their mother watched on.

The lucky ducks were initially spotted by a member of the public yesterday morning, who alerted security staff at Colchester General Hospital.

When security officer Lee Richardson arrived on the scene, neither he nor his team could crank open the drain.

But just as fears for the birds began to grow, the team was able to open the drain using a hammer and crowbar.

Mr Richardson, who is no stranger to duck rescue operations at the Turner Road hospital, was then able to reach down two-feet into the drain to pluck six of the ducklings to safety.

He said: “When we got them out, they couldn’t really walk because they were so covered in whatever mud was down there.

“The mum was hanging around the drain looking down into it - probably just letting them know they were going to be ok and giving some moral support.”

Mr Richardson, 48, from Dovercourt, added: “I thought I’d finished and was about to close the drain when I spotting another one in an inlet and he was chirping away at me to let me know he or she was still there.

“It was like he’d tried to find a way out and came back and all his mates were gone and he was saying: ‘Oi! Don’t leave me here.”