They are more used to dealing with rowdy students who step out of line on campus.

But a team of security men at the University of Bath had to show their softer side when they came to the rescue of a trapped duckling.

They were alerted to the situation at 4.45pm on Thursday when a passer-by reported that she had seen a mother duck in the bus turning circle looking distressed.

Nick Harwood and Tony Riley went out to investigate and discovered that a baby duckling had fallen down a drain and could not get out.

They called across to their colleague Tony McFarlane to get a crow bar to prise the drain open.

Mr McFarlane, 30, from Twerton, said they used everything they had to rescue the duckling but to no avail.

He said: "You name it, we tried it. None of it was working.

"We even tied a two-tonne rope to the drain and pulled it with a vehicle. We tried to put a bag down to scoop it out, but that didn't work either."

The team spent 45 minutes trying different methods and finally came up with a solution from the mechanical engineering department which loaned them a small crane.

Mr McFarlane said: "We had to keep letting the duckling calm down in between things we were doing, otherwise it would get distressed.

"Being a dad I understand, but the mother was going mad. The baby was quite calm, calling out for its mother, but it seemed all right.

"One of my colleagues found an engine crane and as they were pumping it up I was smacking the drain with a hammer and it popped up.

"My colleague Tony was the one who put his hands in and fished the duckling out."

The mother and safely-rescued child quickly darted off in the direction of the university pond and the team followed them to make sure they got back safely.

Mr McFarlane said: "They were as happy as Larry.

"We have got quite a lot of wildlife up here, it is their natural habitat, so we have got to do what we can for them."

The team said they never considered giving up on the duckling and had been determined to get it out, no matter how long it took.

Mr McFarlane said: "When we go back to the office we were calling ourselves duck patrol. We all felt pretty good.

"It was getting to the point that it wasn't going to beat us. When we got it out it was nice, a sense of achievement.

"It was something we couldn't have let go and we were determined to get it out.

"I don't like being beaten."