EIGHT ducklings found wandering around a Sainsbury’s car park were released back into the wild after being lovingly hand-reared.

The unfortunate birds were spotted by residents in the car park of the Witney supermarket with their mother nowhere to be seen.

They called staff at the Tremain veterinary surgery, which passed them on to Ramsden Rare Breeds, a visitor attraction recently set up at the Hilltop Garden Centre off the Witney Road near Leafield.

Staff reared them on chicken crumbs and water until they were strong enough to be released back into the wild on the River Windrush on Wednesday. Katharine Harper, 62, who works part time at Ramsden Rare Breeds, said: “They opened the cages and they all went plop into the water, it was fantastic.”