TAME ducks in a Weymouth village have been given their flying orders amid concerns over environmental health.

Time was called on the birds’ tenancy in the grounds of the Springhead pub at Sutton Poyntz after delighting visitors for two decades. Villager Dave Caddy has been left with a sense of déjà vu,after replacing a colony following the death of a local farmer around 20 years ago.

He said: “They were gone for about a year.

“The millpond filled with weed and I was asked if I could get some ducks and, if so, if I could look after them.

“I got the birds from a farm at Herrison, where patients had looked after them.

“The Sutton Poyntz Society paid for a duck arc and we were told we could keep it in the pub grounds.

“I used to go and let them in in the morning, and bring them back in at night.

“It would be nothing for me to leave guests at the dinner table to go and bring in the ducks.

“I would go down at night and whistle them in from the pond.

“The holidaymakers would love it, and people staying at the pub would throw food for the ducks to eat.

“It’s a shame the ducks have gone.

“But if the wild mallard ducks continue to feed at the pond, then the children will still have something to see,” said Mr Caddy.

John Allen, who lives next to the pond, was among those rostered to look after the feathered friends when Mr Caddy moved to the outskirts of the village about three years ago.

“It’s a shame. The ducks were a real feature of the village and the people who looked after them had become very attached to them.

“It wasn’t a chore to let them out and bring them in.

“I used to enjoy it. They all had characters and having been born in the hutch were very different to the wild ducks,” said Mr Allen.

Maureen Morris, who also helped to look after the ducks, said they had provided ‘a focal point’ to the village, and hoped wild ducks would continue to feed at the pond.

“Because food was in the equation, wild ducks would join the tame ones.

“But they may disappear over the winter, now there won’t be people coming to the pond to feed the tame ducks,” said Mrs Morris.

The Springhead’s landlord, Richard Treadwell, said the decision had been taken with the interests of his customers in mind.

“We took over the business about three years ago and have tried to provide the highest standards,” he said.

“We were concerned about the environmental health impact of ducks being fed in an area where food is served.

“Food being thrown on to the driveway was attracting other animals.”