A CULL of ducks in a village where the pond is over-populated, will not take place,, environmentalists have pledged.

Instead, a number of ducks are likely to be taken to fresh waters in a bid to prevent continued pollution of the pond at Grewelthorpe, near Ripon.

A planting scheme to improve the water quality will then follow.

A newly-formed volunteer group to manage the pond with planting and a reduction in the duck population is poised for action following the nesting season.

It has been estimated there are well over 100 ducks on the pond, but that figure will rise sharply once ducklings have arrived.

Someone has already offered a new home for the ducks, on a pond about four miles away.

And a spokesman for the new environmental group said: "Whatever we do, we will not be having a cull. That would be very unpopular and we recognise what a feature the Grewelthorpe ducks are. At the moment, pollution of the pond is the real problem."

The group has pledged not to take any action without consulting villagers and, during summer, plans an open-air meeting for residents - appropriately overlooking the duck pond.

Helping to spearhead the group is villager Judy Leathley, who said their aim was to enhance and improve the pond.

"Reducing the duck population, the main cause of pollution, and appropriate planting, will drastically improve the water quality," she said.

This is the second time in recent years that Grewelthorpe is finding new homes for its growing duck population.

A previous exodus saw them transported to ponds in Nidderdale, after villagers rejected requests for them to be sent to other ponds, including one from a park in Leeds.