Plumber to the rescue in duckling drain drama

Tim Stevenson is the go-to person for duckling rescues in a Canterbury town.

So far this spring, he has been called to help in three retrievals around Lincoln.

Stevenson said any time ducklings need rescuing, people tag him on the community Facebook page to come help.

The most recent rescue was last Tuesday evening, when two from a flock of 13 ducklings fell into a drain on Benashet Dr.

The first 11 had been rescued by another person before they went too deep, but Stevenson, as the owner of Anchor Plumbing, had the tools to get down deeper to retrieve the final two.

“They were super far down but stuck, so they couldn’t escape. We used a bucket and a rake to bring them up.”

Because the mother duck had left, Stevenson took the pair home for the night – without telling his children.

“In the middle of the night, I get woken up and my (5-year-old son Reuben) is saying, ‘Dad, dad, there are ducks in the bath’.

“The kids were pretty excited to see them in the morning.”

Sadly, one duckling died on Wednesday morning, with the other collected by Christchurch duck sanctuary Lil Quacks.