Bread ban means Dacorum's ducks are slimming down

Twelve months ago the Canal & River Trust urged people to leave the bread at home and swap to healthier options such as seeds, lettuce and peas which are closer to a duck’s natural diet.

And one year later there has been a 14 per cent drop in the number of people feeding ducks bread across the South East.

Nonetheless there have still been 3.5 million loaves of bread being thrown into canals, rivers, ponds and lakes across the region.

Penny Foster, for the Canal & River Trust, said: “It only takes a few simple changes such as swapping bread for healthy food that is closer to a duck’s natural diet – like oats, corn or peas.

“If everyone avoids going to the same duck-feeding hotspots and exercises portion control that would also make a big difference.”