Shropshire Star

Owner in reward offer after three of Clun's roaming ducks go missing

Ducks which roam free through a Shropshire town's streets and entertain visitors have been stolen from their coop.

Published

Three birds have been taken from the coop near the home of owner Vin Parry in Clun.

He says he does not know if the ducks have been killed or stolen by someone who wants ducks of their own – but he hopes they will be safely returned alive and well.

Owner Vin Parry about to feed the ducks

Mr Parry, a retired truck driver, has looked after the ducks in Clun town centre for many years.

While they roam free in the day, he feeds and houses them at night in the car park next to Clun bridge, opposite his home.

In 2005 the town was sickened when a drunken 17-year-old broke into Mr Parry's coop, stabbed one duck through the neck with a screwdriver, plucked feathers from another while it was still alive and then tossed the pair, dead, into a field.

Mr Parry, 65, said there was no evidence of such a gruesome attack this time around.

He said the break-in had happened on September 9 and now Mr Parry is asking for anyone who knows anything about it to come forward with information.

"I feed them every night with corn and then shut them in to keep them safe," he said. "My wife let them out that following morning and didn't realise someone had forced the hinges of the roof." He said he only noticed later in the day that the coop had been broken into, and that evening his fears were confirmed.

"When I came to put them in that night I noticed that three ducks had gone missing – there should have been 14, but there were only 11."

He said he would be willing to offer a reward for any information that lead to finding the culprit.

Anyone with information should contact West Mercia Police on 101.

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