NINE adorable ducklings have been rescued after becoming trapped in a drain near Haddington.

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out yesterday (Sunday) afternoon after a female duck was spotted on the busy A6137.

Zena Trendell was taking her daughter Anna Cameron, who is a midwife at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, to her work on Sunday morning.

Zena, who lives at Ballencrieff, told the Courier a car had swerved to avoid the adult bird.

Her daughter had asked her to check on it on the way home, as well as for the possibility of baby ducks in the nearby drain.

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out to help rescue the ducklings from a drain near Haddington

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out to help rescue the ducklings from a drain near Haddington

She said: “Hours later, I was coming back and the duck was lying on the road,

“I thought Anna is going to say to me ‘did I check the drain for the ducklings?’

“I parked up along the farm road and looked in the drain and saw them.

“I thought ‘I can’t ignore this now’ and there were lots of them.

“I phoned the Scottish SPCA and I could not lift up the drain and the road was too busy.”

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out to help rescue the ducklings from a drain near Haddington

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out to help rescue the ducklings from a drain near Haddington

A representative from the animal rescue charity came out to the scene, to the north of Haddington, and it was decided to phone the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to help with the rescue mission.

Zena added: “The firefighters came along and I thought they were going to love this job, which, I think, they did.

“It turned out there were nine ducklings and they were running about in the drain.

“We got eight out really fast but one duckling decided to be shy.

“One of the firemen said ‘we’re not leaving a duckling behind’ and waited for it to come out.”

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out to help rescue the ducklings from a drain near Haddington

Firefighters and the Scottish SPCA were called out to help rescue the ducklings from a drain near Haddington

The ducklings were then packed into a carrying case before being taken away to the Scottish SPCA’s national wildlife rescue centre, near Alloa.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were alerted at 12.58pm on Sunday to reports of a duckling trapped in a drain on the A6137 near Haddington, East Lothian.

"Operations Control mobilised one appliance to assist with the rescue of the ducklings, which was handed into the care of the Scottish SPCA."