A DISTRESSED duck whose head was trapped in a plastic can holder for more than a month has finally been set free.

The Worcester News reported the female mallard’s plight last month after she was spotted by concerned readers.

The duck has survived for five weeks with the rubbish entangled around her neck and in her mouth.

Despite the best attempts to rescue her by inspectors from the RSPCA, she evaded capture and concerns grew for her safety.

But the duck escaped her plastic harness early on Saturday morning at Gheluvelt Park, off Barbourne Road, Worcester, when a fellow mallard stood on it while they were being fed.

Worcester News reader Janet Wells – one of the first people to notice the problem – and her grown-up daughter Katy witnessed the moment the bird was set free.

“We went down to feed the ducks to see if we could get close enough to her to remove the plastic,” said Mrs Wells, who lives in Blanquettes Street.

“Katy was in amongst them all when she suddenly shouted, ‘Mum, Mum – it’s off, it’s on the floor’.

“I’m over the moon about it. I think it was a bit of divine intervention because if we hadn’t been down there [when the plastic came off] we wouldn’t have known what had happened to her.”

Mrs Wells said that she had cut up the holder and disposed of it so it could no longer pose a danger to other animals.

RSPCA spokesman Judith Haw said officers returned to the site last week to try and coax the bird towards them by using different food, but she flew away.

She said: “We’re delighted that the duck is now free.

“We did worry that she might have got snagged on a tree because of the plastic holder, which could have caused her more stress.

“It’s great to hear [the holder] has come off by itself, but it’s sad really because the whole ordeal was completely unnecessary.

“Dropping a piece of litter can cause pain, suffering, distress and even death to wild animals. This only happened because someone had discarded [the holder].”