Residents of a Kent commuter village one hour away from London are on high alert as flocks of ducks have taken to crossing busy streets. It has been causing traffic chaos and some in the normally quiet village are even complaining of “ducky tinnitus” – due to their constant quacking.
Residents Marden, in Tonbridge which is an hour drive from south east London, say they fear someone will be “knocked down” soon because of the havoc caused by the birds. Businesses in the area have put up signs warning of the ducks crossing in Collier Street and Green Lane – but cars are still having to slam on their breaks and honk their horns.
Locals say the road is a “rat run” with many drivers reported to regularly exceed the 40mph speed limit. It is believed the ducks are being homed in a field in the area, although the ownership is unclear. A fence has been erected around the field in recent days in a apparent bid to stop the roaming.
Kate Graves, 54, who owns the Willows End Tea Room, says the ducks have been causing problems on local roads – and she fears an accident will happen soon. She said: “At first we thought someone had a massive brood and they would fly off soon. I don’t think that they are being fed properly so they are coming down to look for food.
“They were coming down and causing absolute havoc on this road. We had to put a notice on Facebook asking people not to stop as this road is noticeably busy. It is a rat run.
“We are concerned about the ducks, but we are obviously more worried about the human lives. People are getting out of their cars, and they are going to get knocked down.
“There are a lot of accidents on this road. You get juggernauts coming down at speed. Because they are juvenile they can only waddle around, so they can’t fly away or pick up momentum.”
Her daughter Royan Graves, 29, added: “This is a crazy busy road and people come down it fast. There are also loads of HGVs which don’t come down here slowly.
“At the speed people come down here they can’t slam their foot on the breaks if someone has stopped. This road also floods a lot and things will be even worse if its wet. It would be like living in a pond.”
The café has even set up a competition where local kids can make signs warning about the ducks – which people say has made cars drive slower. Local residents Tara O’Shay and her daughter Jessie, 20, say there has even been at least one accident caused by the animals.
Tara said: “We were driving along the road a week ago and there was an accident. I didn’t think much of it at the time but later I found out that it was from the ducks. Every single day there are ducks in the road.
“I saw online that they are being breeded for hunting. I am from Canada, so the idea that our problem is ducks in the road rather than a fire or landslide is a relief. Now people have put signs up and people really do seem to be going round the corners slower.”
Jessie added: “It is really dangerous because cars are swerving and ducks don’t move for anybody. I grew up in LA and this is the type of thing you would get fined for. If you were breeding ducks for shooting and they got on the road and caused a car accident you would be sued into the ground.
“Here everyone is so chilled out. It shows the British demeaner, keep calm and carry on as ducks are on the road.”
Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, says she has also been facing constant quacking on top of the traffic chaos. She said: “At the beginning of July as I understand over 2,000 ducks were released on farm land.
“They haven’t been acclimatised so they got out on the road and they were very panicked and nervous. They have no survival skills because they were bred in captivity.
“They are being picked off by predators and they don’t stand a chance. The smell is awful because foxes are killing them and hiding them for later. There are dead ducks everywhere.
“The noise is awful. The horns beeping starts about 6am. The only other option is for people to get out of their cars which is so dangerous.
“It is like living next door to Hitchcock’s The Birds. With people beeping and ducks quacking all the time my nerves are shot. I have ducky tinnitus because of the constant quacking.”
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