The beautiful little UK town so friendly there are even 'duck wardens'

Every evening, residents living in the town of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, personally escort around 20 ducks to the town centre where they roost for the night.

The birds start the 15-minute journey from the Cod Beck river at around 8.30pm and head to the market square car park, where they sleep until around 4.30am the next morning. Mystery surrounds why the ducks make the daily trip, but some believe the mothers feel safer sleeping with their ducklings away from riverside predators.

Once the birds have picked their spot, the wardens place cones around them and watch over until the town falls silent at around 11pm on weekdays or sometimes as late as 2:30am over the weekend. Emma-Jayne Hutchings, 48, is one of 15 selfless 'duckies' who has been helping the birds to safely navigate the route during their evening adventure.

The senior business advisor said: "It is really heartwarming and adorable escorting the ducks on their walk. You know when they are leaving as they all start quacking like a call to arms, then they march up in two battalions.

"It is unknown why they do it, maybe it is because the cobblestones they sleep on are warm, or it has just become a learned behaviour.

"There are a lot of rodents and cats who linger in the area by the river, which may make them feel unsafe. Maybe they just know they are safe when they sleep in the market square. It has brought a wealth of community spirit with all parts getting involved to make sure the ducks are safe.

"We have been donated high-vis jackets to wear and food for the ducks. The local pub, the Mowbray Arms, provides us with cups of tea or coffee whilst we watch over them. Not just that it has been a really nice way to meet like-minded people who have since become friends."

The birds first started making the trek last year unsupervised, which led to four being killed while crossing the road. As a result, Jodie Wood, 41, set up a Facebook page and now organises volunteers alongside Emma to keep them safe.

Jodie said: "I made a Facebook group asking if anyone wanted to help me with the ducks, and it got lots of responses. We have around 15 helpers, and we create a rota to see who can help."

The ducks started making the journey in mid-June and continued doing so until the beginning of December.

The wardens say they don't encourage the ducks to make the walk - and they only look after them after they made the decision on their "own terms"

Jodie added: "They start walking at about 8:30pm, and we walk with them and wait to see where they want to go and put the cones around them.

"It's so they don't get run over or anything like that. Sometimes we get drunk revellers trying to touch them, mess with them, and walk through them. But 99% of the time, it's fine, and people just come to chat and take pictures, but you do get the odd one.

"We think there is a mink down there. We think it could also be a cat or a fox, but we aren't 100 per cent sure. I've lived here all my life, and I've never seen this before. Something is scaring them away.

"But we've not had any fatalities since we started the group and had the volunteers."

The Facebook group has since received support from people in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, and Italy.

Jodie said: "We are lucky to have such a great following and so much support."