DUCK feeders in Needham Market have today responded angrily after a wildlife report suggested they are damaging their town's lake.Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) released a report this week which said regularly feeding ducks at Needham Lake and Ipswich's Christchurch Park could cause significant damage to the waters.

DUCK feeders in Needham Market have today responded angrily after a wildlife report suggested they are damaging their town's lake.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) released a report this week which said regularly feeding ducks at Needham Lake and Ipswich's Christchurch Park could cause significant damage to the waters.

Brian Crascall, of Bosmere Court, said the report has given the wrong signals and has encouraged people to continue to feed the ducks.

He said: “I live in Needham and go down there practically every day, including Christmas day, to feed the ducks and it's obvious they are always hungry.”

The SWT report said if ducks are present in large numbers they can consume all the pond vegetation - plants that provide food, shelter and oxygen for mini-beasts.

It said droppings produced by the ducks also pollute the water and their dabbling in the shallows of ponds stirs up the sediment, bringing a reduction in water quality.

The trust said it is not arguing people should stop feeding ducks but that they should know they cannot feed them and expect a wildlife-rich pond.

Mr Crscall said: “Needham Lake is a man made lake with very little vegetation and little food for the wildlife except the grass for the geese.

“There's also a problem because many of the ducks are domesticated birds that have been dumped by farmers, and other people who cannot keep them. These types of ducks are used to being fed