A bird charity says it has received a fourth duck for treatment due to a mystery pollution incident at a housing estate pond which is now being investigated by government officials.

Last week Manx Wild Bird Aid says it had been treating three ducks after they were found covered in a substance thought to be cooking oil with more reports coming in.

On Monday another duck covered in oil was taken in by the charity which says the incidents are being looked into by the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture.

The first three birds were admitted to the charity’s care on December 30 after they were found in difficulty at the duck pond in Governor’s Hill in Douglas.

Posting online, the charity said: ‘If looks could kill we’d be out of volunteers thanks to the mallard we’ve called Donald, admitted from Governors Hill on December 30.

‘We share his pain though as Donald’s New Year has been spent with us trying to wash the cooking type oil off his feathers. There are more spa days on the horizon for Donald. Then we have to get him waterproof again.’

The charity has since posted an update adding: ‘It’s only Monday and we’ve admitted yet another oiled duck from Governors Hill pond. A team from DEFA are currently on site assessing the situation.’

‘It could take some time until the matter is completely resolved, so please don’t throw food into the water. The ducks can still be fed out of the water, on the area of grass above the top pond for example.’

The charity admits it is not sure where the cooking oil has come from but it has urged people to take care when pouring items down the drain.

It said: ‘Where the oil came from is still a mystery as there doesn’t appear to be any in the pond now. However it’s possible the oily substance was disposed of down a street (stormwater) drain which then emptied into the pond and contaminated several of the much loved resident ducks.’