Dozens of rubber ducks dumped in New Forest pond

Forestry England warns ponies die every year after swallowing plastic and litter left by 'thoughtless' people

Forestry England has warned of the danger litter poses to animals and wildlife after dozens of rubber ducks were dumped in a pond in the New Forest, Hampshire (Forestry England)

Forestry England has criticised “thoughtless” litter louts after staff spent hours clearing up dozens of rubber ducks dumped in a pond.

The yellow bath toys were found floating in water in the New Forest, Hampshire, on Thursday.

Images posted on the New Forest's Instagram page showed workers armed with nets and litter pickers filling large rubbish bags with the recovered toys.

In a caption accompanying the pictures, a spokesperson for the agency said staff spent "a great deal of time" retrieving the ducks which could have been spent "working on important tasks".

The organisation warned a number of the area’s ponies die every year after swallowing plastic as they urged people not to leave rubbish behind.

They wrote: “A big thumbs down from our staff, who have spent a great deal of time clearing up rubber ducks when they could be working on important tasks.

“Sadly every year a number of New Forest ponies have to be put down because they have swallowed plastic and litter left by thoughtless people.”