A SENIOR police officer performed an unlikely rescue when she came across eight lost ducklings by the roadside.

Acting Insp Bridget Orton, of Durham Police, was driving through Chester-le-Street on Tuesday evening when she spotted the ducklings walking in single file on the footpath next to the busy A167.

The quick-thinking officer stopped her car nearby and enlisted the help of PCs Gail Donaghy and Lee Finlay.

The three officers knocked on the door of a house in nearby Park Road to borrow a box and blanket, then herded the ducklings to safety. After taking advice from the force's wildlife liaison officer, the birds were released at the pond near The Hermitage school.

Acting Insp Orton said: "It was a bit like The Wacky Races trying to catch them, but we managed to get them back and get them to safety."