A TRICKY operation to save the lives of more than 20 ducks was hailed a success by RSPCA officers.

The team of five RSPCA workers visited Mill Hill Farm in Mill Hill Lane, Hapton, to remove the ducks from a pond polluted by oil.

It is believed the waste engine oil has ended up in the pond after being poured down a drain on Mill Hill Lane which runs into the pond.

The RSPCA used a boat to sail out on the pond and used nets to catch the ducks as well as 'herding' them into nets set-up on the land.

Twenty-six ducks, including breeds of Aylesburys and Indian Runners, were caught and taken to a bird hospital in Cheshire to be cleaned and treated.

The oil could be lethal to the birds if it is allowed to remain on their feathers.

Simon Small, East Lancashire Inspector for the RSPCA, said: "We were delighted to get 26 birds. It is more than we expected to get hold of.

"There is no tried and tested method of catching ducks, a lot of it is improvisation.

"As yet we don't know whether the pollution was an accident or it was possibly deliberate.

"If it was deliberate I hope the person who did it is satisfied with the fact that the act has caused so much hurt to defenceless animals."

He added: "The birds are now going to have to go through quite a serious cleaning process."

Ruth McGreal, 47, and the owner of the pond, was the first to notice the oil on the pond and birds.

She said: "I am pleased with how it has gone today and the response of the RSPCA.

"The ducks will be returned to the pond once they have been cleaned. However, now the problem remains of how to clean up the mess."