This is the heartwarming moment a hero dad clambered inside a storm drain to save two stranded ducklings which had been washed away from their mother.
Brendan Hawkins, 37, leapt into action after he spotted an adult female duck quacking desperately on a canal.
He leant over the side of the riverbank and realised two baby ducklings had been swept inside a storm drain and were struggling against the strong current.
The builder dashed home to collect his tools and managed to prise open the lid of the drain before climbing down into the water and scooping the birds up in his hands.
His wife Hannah, 30, filmed the rescue which took place on Sunday (3/6) evening on the Ashby Canal near their home in Hinckley, Leics.
Brendan said: “Me and the wife and kids had just been out for something to eat. We got home and I went out to walk the dog.
“I walked the dog down the canal and came across these ducklings in the drain. The mother was going mad by the storm drain.
“I phoned the RSPB and a local animal rescue guy but nobody was picking up.
“Then I ran back home and told grabbed my kids and my missus and told them about the ducklings.
“I grabbed my toolbox and ran back to see if there was something I could to help them.
“I managed to lift the lid of the drain up and move it far enough for me to scramble inside.
“It was ankle deep in water in the far end of the drain near where the ducks were. We had had quite a bit of rain.
“I wasn’t in there for long and I’m a builder anyway – I’ve been in worse drains than that. It was a lot nicer than being in a sewer.
“I’m not the thinnest of people so it was a bit of a squeeze.
“The ducklings were exhausted but I picked them up and took them gently to the front of the drain where their mother was and they leapt through the grille and back into the canal.
“It was a lovely moment. Everyone loves animals and I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I’d just left them there.
“The reaction since my wife posted the video on Facebook has been amazing.”
His wife Hannah, a nursery nurse, and their children, Eden, three, Bethany, nine and 11-year-old Ethan, can be heard cheering Brendan.
Since posting the 3.20-minute long video on social media, it has been viewed and shared more than 15,000 times.
Facebook user Nathan Timms said: “You absolute legend well done mate.”
Robert Anderson posted: “Well done you deserve a medal top respect to you.”