THE welfare of animals in Darlington's South Park has been called into question by a resident who found a dead duck in a pond.

Kathleen Bland was visiting the Victorian park with her three-year-old granddaughter on Saturday, when she saw the bird.

She said: "As we fed bread to the ducks, my granddaughter said 'Nana that one's dead'. I replied 'No, it is having a drink' but looking further the duck was in fact dead. Its head was in the water and its body laid there with a stiff foot sticking up. I was horrified and moved her along."

Mrs Bland, from Haughton, tried without success to find a park attendant to remove the duck.

"I went into the cafe and was told there were no council employees on duty and I should contact the council on Monday," she said.

"I was disgusted. With one duck laid dead I wondered what was the care of the other ones.

"I tried to ring the parks department that day but got no answer.

"I was horrified by the fact that there was no one to report anything to."

As well as ducks, South Park has rabbits, peacocks, parakeets and golden pheasants.

Mrs Bland was distressed by the condition of some rabbits and the state of the birds' cages.

"As we fed the rabbits I noticed that some of them were in pretty poor condition. Their fur looked really scabby," she said.

"I thought the birds' cages were a mess too. I won't be taking my granddaughter back there."

Mrs Bland said she reported her concerns to the RSPCA, although the charity said yesterday that it had no record of the complaint.

A Darlington Borough Council spokesman said there was no way for the public to contact park staff at weekends, but said the duck would have been removed by the following morning because all the animals were fed, watered and cleaned every day.

"The RSPCA carry out regular inspections and they are happy with the animals' well-being," he said.

"We take care of them. They are our animals.