Holbeach residents call for action after 20 ducks were ‘massacred’ by a speeding driver
Distraught residents are pleading with police to investigate an incident in which 20 ducks were ‘massacred’ by a speeding driver.
Becky Brothwell had the upsetting task of clearing still-warm decapitated bodies and limbs from Spalding Road in Holbeach after getting out of bed in the early hours of last Friday morning.
She was determined to spare schoolchildren from the harrowing sight of their remains.
Residents were horrified that a driver sped through and killed a group of ducks walking in the road close to the Red Lion pub and the William Stukeley Primary School on Thursday night.
Mrs Brothwell not only removed the bodies from the road but also took other remains – that someone had moved to a nearby litter bin and covered over with a Primark bag – and buried all that she could in her garden to give the creatures a more dignified end.
She was alerted to the incident after receiving a message from Steve Murray, a fellow administrator of the Ducks of Holbeach Facebook account.
Both want the police to investigate this incident – and have raised road safety concerns about the area.
Mrs Brothwell said the grisly scene was upsetting.
She said: “I went to clear up the massacre afterwards as I did not want other people to see it – especially the children.
“When I arrived, there were body parts, heads, legs and limbs. I had to remove everything.
“It was devastating. There were no ducklings but they were juvenile adults. There was a mixture of male and female ducks.
“We would like to find out who the driver was as they should be named and shamed.
“They didn’t stop and this was a big group of ducks.
“The ducks in Holbeach are amazing to watch and to go and pick them up while they were still warm is devastating.”
Holbeach has a thriving duck population – which has become a much-loved part of the town.
Mrs Brothwell added: “We are devastated and so are the people of Holbeach to have lost these ducks.
“They have driven home without a care in the world. They did not have to deal with picking up the dead bodies from the road.
“They should just slow down. I think that if they were speeding through it could have been a child or a family that was hit. It is about everyone’s safety.”
Mr Murray branded the incident a ‘massacre’ and also feels the speed limit along Spalding Road should be reduced to 30mph. It currently has 40mph and 30mph zones.
He said: “I spoke to the police (about this) and they are not interested.
“I want something done about this as it is really distressing.”
We have approached the police for comment.
Officers say they received reports of a van driving through a group of ducks in Holbeach, on July 6 at around 10.30pm.