TWO ducklings were rescued by Torquay firefighters after plunging down the narrow gaps in a road drain.

The tumbling toddlers quacked their heads off to raise enough noise to alert a local resident washing his car.

He peeped down to see the ailing babies swimming around in their subterranean prison at Bay Thorpe Lodge at Livermead Hill.

Firefighters duly turned up armed with small tools which were used to lift the drain cover and release the distressed inmates.

A fire spokesman said after yesterday's duck drama at 8am: "They obviously weren't looking where they were going when they were following their mum."

He added: "We were able to re-unite them with the rest of the brood. We could hear the mother making a racket in the bushes. They heard the call and went off to join them."