Dolly and her ducklings bring joy to Thornton pensioner shielding alone

One of those vulnerable people was Pauline O'Rourke, 69, of Whimbrel Drive, Thornton, who has had her spleen removed, resulting in instructions from the Government to remain in her house until the end of June.

Mrs O'Rourke's husband, Blackpool goalkeeping legend Billy O'Rourke, died in 2002, so she was confined to her home alone.

But one afternoon last month, she was visited by a female duck who took refuge in the pond in her back garden, and laid seven eggs.

Mrs O'Rourke explained that the new life brought to her home by the duck she and neighbours lovingly named "Dolly," gave her the strength to keep going and focus on something positive.

"I live close to Pheasant's Wood, so it's unusual that she would choose to nest in my garden, but I'm so pleased she did," Pauline said.

"I'm on my own here, I do have relatives who visit me but we could only speak through the window for a while until recently.

"Watching Dolly with her eggs gave me something to focus on and keep my spirits up."

With her neighbours helping her to keep a close eye on the eggs to ensure they were not susceptible to predators, Pauline was overjoyed this morning (Tuesday June 16) to find the eggs had hatched, and her garden was now home to Dolly and her seven ducklings.

"I was so worried at first because one of my neighbours told me they could see that the eggs had cracked, and there was nothing there," she continued.

"I thought an animal had come and taken them. I looked for Dolly and saw her sitting on the bank of the pond, but noticed she looked a lot fatter than usual.

"Then suddenly, lots of tiny feet popped out from underneath her. It's so lovely to watch them all swimming together. There was some happiness to come out of these strange and worrying times we are living in."