IT was raining ducks in Colchester. Shoppers in the town centre were taken by surprise when tiny ducklings appeared to fall one by one from the sky.

Daniel Tuck, 24, of Barrack Street, Colchester, was with his wife, Vicky, when the ducklings fell on the pavement outside the Co-op, in St Nicholas Square.

He said: “I was on my mobile phone walking along when all of a sudden these duckling just fell down in front of me.”

Scores of passers-by spent the next hour trying to catch the five ducklings as they waddled around on the ground.

They had come from a nest on top of the Co-op building.

Police community support officer Hayley Howe and the town’s CCTV manager Bob Brookes climbed on the roof of the building to rescue five more ducks.

PCSO Howe said: “I’m scared of heights so it was a bit of a struggle, but it’s all in a day’s work.

“I think the parents made the nest thinking it was safe and far away from cats, but unfortunately it was a bit too far and the only way they could get down was by jumping. It’s amazing they all survived.”

It’s hoped the ducklings can be reunited with their mum.