See the moment a mother duck and six ducklings are released after being trapped in Sunderland hospital grounds

A mother duck and her six ducklings were rescued by the RSPCA on Wednesday, June 9 after they became trapped in the grounds of Hopewood Park Hospital in Waterworks Road and were unable to make their escape.

A female worker at the hospital noticed the group of ducks and began giving them water before realising they were stuck and raised the alarm with the RSPCA.

Animal rescuer Inspector Lucy Green went to the mental health unit and could see the mother and ducklings hiding in a bush in a courtyard area.

The charity say the mother had flown into the walled area to nest and laid her eggs, but then the mum was unable to get the ducklings out as they were too young to fly.

Lucy said: “The woman had monitored the family but they were still there and the mother was getting stressed so she contacted us for help.

“I was able to safely capture the mother and placed her into a box and soon her ducklings followed. I then took them further into the grounds and released them on a pond nearby.

“It was great to see them happily run into the water and swim off after the mum and I was able to catch the special moment on video.”

Lucy added that staff often take patients in the hospital to the pond area and said the mum and young family would be an added bonus for them to watch.

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