In the late morning today, I became aware of a very loud and insistant quacking in the street...on investigation, I saw a duck on the corner of the road, making an enormous noise and with an obviously injured left foot. I rang the RSPCA and after some time (0870 number...) got through and explained the situation. I was assured that some-one would be in touch.This was 11 am. Duck continued to quack loudly, and flew about a bit - up on to a garage roof at one point. Then it disappeared - what do I do now if RSPCA turns up I needn't have worried - they never did. :-( The duck returned in the afternoon, quacking as loudly as ever.I rang our vet & they gave me the number of a local animal rescue. The chap answered said he was inundated with calls, and might not be able to come round until tomorrow. :-(
Then the local children returned from school...there was great excitement around a drain near our house - they had heard cheeping, and looked down & saw 2 ducklings in the drain...:-( At the same time, OH came in having been out to ascertain exact position of duck - he'd found it under a car in the next street, with more ducklings! I rang back to animal rescue and he said he'd come straight out.
In the meantime, one of the children's dads had rescued the 2 ducklings from the drain & put them in our hedge - which is very thick & prickly. Shortly afterwards, our animal rescuer arrived in an animal ambulance. It then took some time to extricate the ducklings, which were very mobile, from the hedge. Every time they were spotted, they ran off in the opposite direction. However, with much neighbourly help, they were eventually captured and popped in an incubator.
Next we walked with our knight in shining armour to the next street to show him the rest of the family under the car....but the car had gone & there was no sign of duck & duckings...:-( He walked down the road with OH to look for them - duck was on the corner of that road with 9 more ducklings! He managed to capture them and took them off to the rescue centre.
I'm obviously unimpressed with the lack of response from the RSPCA, but of course if they had come shortly after my first call, when I was only aware of a duck in distress, and not of any ducklings, she could have been put down and a large family left motherless..So, top marks to our local animal rescue, I'm very impressed.

Maybe you should have told the RSPCA that a camera crew was in attendance. They might have arrived then :)

I've always thought that local rescue centres were far better than the Rspca, or the SSPCA here in Scotland. You feel that they actually CARE about the animals, rather than it just being a pay check at the end of the month.

Well done to you and your neighbours for caring enough to call someone, and help this poor family.