Dried up pond refilled for ducks as community unites

A woman has been left overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers after a community has united to refill a dried up duck pond.

Lucyl Harrison, 32, from Hempton, near Fakenham, said she had been filling household items from paddling pools to oven trays and saucepans to make sure a 50-strong flock of ducks had enough to drink after the village pond dried up more than a week ago.

She said she breathed a sigh of relief after a tractor and tanker of water arrived on Friday and was overjoyed to see the ducks enjoying the pond again.

And she felt overwhelmed by how people "rallied round" to help.

"I feel full of gratitude by the kindness and care the community has shown us here in Hempton," she said.

Harrison said water levels in the pond had started to diminish weeks ago and felt compelled to do something.

On Wednesday, the Environment Agency declared a drought across more than half of England — including East Anglia.

The 32-year-old said after seeing the ducks "panting" and finding shade under cars and bushes, she started to leave out trays and paddling pools filled with water.

"I had people knocking on my door saying how can we help," she added.

Throughout Friday the pond was refilled with help from the Raynham Estate, local businesses and residents to start restoring it back to its former glory.

Harrison said she had got into a routine of setting her alarm for 06:00 BST each morning with buckets of water for the ducks who would wait patiently outside her patio for her.

However, with the pond starting to fill, she is looking forward to a lie-in.

She said: "I can have a lie-in and not be up because I know that they'll be ok and they won't be waiting. It's not full at the moment but there's enough water in there that it will definitely give the ducks some respite in the shade and the water and I know the ducklings are loving it — they haven't left the pond since.

"I felt really reluctant to ask anyone for help because I knew what we were already undergoing in this drought... the kindness of strangers will come through."

Rebecca Machin, scientific and policy officer at the RSPCA, said: "While ducks are well-adapted to life outdoors, prolonged dry conditions can make life more challenging, by not only reducing the ponds they rely on, but also food sources," she said.

Providing shallow containers of clean fresh water for drinking can help, she added, but they should be changed daily to reduce the risk of spreading diseases, including bird flu.

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