Not so quackers! Delight after Telford's giant ducks raise £30,000 for charity
A family of colourful giant ducks have new homes – after raising more than £30,000 for good causes in Shropshire.
Ten giant hand-painted ducks, which were originally on show in Ironbridge and then Southwater as part of the Let’s Go Quackers trail, were auctioned off along with eight miniatures and other items.
Before the auction, the trail raised £10,426 in donations, with all funds being split between Severn Hospice and the Jayne Sargent Foundation.
And around £20,000 was raised through the auction at Charlton School.
Telford & Wrekin Council’s mayor Raj Mehta opened the auction. He praised organiser Julie Ward, describing the duck trail as “fantastic”.
The first duck to be auctioned, Natural Bee-uty, was designed by a student from Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School, and was won by teachers to be kept at the school. It was designed by Ria Davies, inspired by Alison’s Bee Class and created by Alicia Hollis.
Teachers attended the auction and cheered as they won the bidding at £1,800 – just £100 off the total the school had raised.
Lorraine Pilgrim, administrator, said: “It’s going to go in the school garden somewhere, maybe the hall first. We did a duck bake-off, mufti-days and a raffle, and the husband of one teacher donated £250 too. We all cheered when we won we were so happy as our total we could bid was £1,900.”
What they all went for
Natural Bee-uty – £1,800
Mr Darby – £1,150
Dr Duck – £1,250
Coalbrookdrake – £1,600
Peace Duck – £1,200
Once Upon a Fairytale – £1,200
Mawster (Mr) Peaquack – £1,600
C-Ellie-Brate – £1,150
Paddlington – £1,800
Lady Victoria – £1,450
Two of the ducks, Lady Victoria and Doctor Duck, were won by Graham and Jenny Wynn. Mr Wynn, the chairman of The Marches LEP, said the ducks, which were won for £1,450 and £1,250, will be kept in the woods near his home in Cosford Grange.
“We’ve got a stream and we want to open up the woodland more for charity so it’ll be a nice surprise for visitors when they are walking around,” he added.
Once Upon a Fairytale was won for £1,200 by an IT manager from Telford. Asghar Ahmad, of Dawley, won the duck which will be in his garden. The 55-year-old’s wife is a child minder so Mr Ahmad bought the duck for the children to enjoy.
Mark Evans and Paul Tarr, from MKM Building Supplies, based at Ketley Business Park, decided to purchase Coalbrookdrake for £1,600 to mark Telford’s 50th anniversary.
Mr Tarr said: “The auction was fantastic, the duck will go on our landscaped display area for everybody to see and keep the kids interested when their parents come.”
Meanwhile, one bidder had her eye on three ducks but successfully won Mawster Peaquack for £1,600.
Judy Cooper, from Montford Bridge, said: “I had three lined up that I wanted but I ended up winning this one. It’s going to go by the river where there are about 50 real ducks to join it.”
Two councillors for Oakengates won the mini Coalbrookdrake for Oakengates Town Council. Councillors Stephen and Shirley Reynolds also bought the mini Mr Darby duck to have at home.
Organiser Julie Ward said: “A total of 746 people put pen to paper to design these ducks so to get to 10 is quite a feat.
“I aimed to raise £18,000 initially, then rounded it up to £20,000, and I’m honoured to say it’s now going to be £30,000.
“Every item went for more than I’d ever imagined. I want to say thank-you to all involved.”
