‘Don’t feed ducks’ plea as village cries fowl over problem at Peak beauty spot

Bradfield Parish Council has put up signs in an bid to stop people feeding the birds at a busy picnic area in the village of Low Bradfield, north of Sheffield.

But despite signs next to the picnic spot, adjacent to Dale Dike reservoir, the problem has continued to grow.

Now the parish council has received another complaint about the ducks being overfed and one local cafe and farm shop has agreed to stop selling duck food.

Members of the parish council have also asked Dr Ian Rotherham, a local ecologist, for his advice on how it should tackle the growing duck problem in the village.

A spokesman for Bradfield Parish Council, which has described the ducks as a “health and safety hazard”, said yesterday: “We get a lot of people feeding the ducks. One of the main problems is that, if the food is left uneaten, it can attract pests.” Dale Dike reservoir, which is a popular walking and picnicking spot for families, is most famous for causing the Great Sheffield Flood of 1854, when the newly-built dam broke while it was being filled for the first time, with disastrous consequences.

Millions of gallons of water then swept down the Loxley Valley and into Malin Bridge and Hillsborough, where the River Loxley joins the River Don.

The flood continued south down the Don, all the way past where the Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield Arena and Meadowhall currently stand.

Eight hundred homes were destroyed and 270 people were killed in the disaster, with bodies being found as far down the River Don as Mexborough.

Dale Dike is now managed by Yorkshire Water, which has upgraded the visitors’ facilities in recent years.