Police sent firefighters to rescue a duckling trapped in a Swaffham drain this afternoon, but the plucky bird had released itself by the time they arrived.

One crew was despatched to the drain in North Pickenham Road at 2.48pm today, Tuesday June 5.

A fire service spokesman said that when they arrived someone living nearby told them the bird had managed to free itself, and they returned to Swaffham fire station.

He said the species of the bird in question had not been recorded.