Sir frantic drake is back on Shropshire's water
It was a case of up, up and away for one lucky duck who had a narrow escape after being caught by the beak in a discarded drinks can.
Members of the public were alerted to his plight after spotting the duck with the serrated and jagged drinks can wedged firmly around his lower beak and tongue, causing severe injuries and bleeding.
The duck had been picked up from Mereside in Shrewsbury after reports were made to the RSPCA. If he had been trapped any longer he could have starved to death.
After being rushed to the Cuan House Wildlife Rescue Centre in Much Wenlock for emergency treatment the duck recovered sufficiently to be released back in to the wild.
He was taken back to the quiet stretch of water and released – and it appears his brush with the dangers of modern living hadn't made a lasting impression on him.
For with a quick flap of the wings he was off across the water and bobbing about contentedly on its surface.
Andy Robbins of the RSPCA, said: "Litter is quite rightly considered an unsightly problem, but for many animals it can also prove potentially fatal.
"Thankfully in this instance we were able to rescue the duck and thanks to the team who treated him, he has escaped more serious injuries.
"It is always our hope that we can release and rehabilitate animals that we rescue, so it is always pleasing to see a wild animal being returned to their natural habitat.
"The RSPCA deals with hundreds if not thousands of calls each year about matters like this.
"It might not cross somebody's mind when they do it, but a discarded drinks can or piece of litter could result in a lot of pain for an unfortunate animal."
The charity receives more than 7,000 phone calls a year about litter-related incidents but many incidents are not reported so the figure is much higher.
