Surprisingly the vandals are a village attraction – a duck population that recently numbered well over 100.

This is the river on which, further down at Burnham Thorpe, Lord Nelson is reputed to have played with toy sailing boats nearly 250 years ago.

"The river has been widening by a foot a year mainly due to the ducks undermining the banks," said parish council chairman, Len Ringwood.

"In addition duck droppings have killed that part of the river. It's dead, there's no wildlife at all," he added.

Some of the ducks have been attracted to the village by people feeding them.

A sign "In the Interest of our Ducks Please Do Not feed" had no effect.

"We attempted to stop people feeding them but it is such a natural pastime for some people that we have now given up, though the sign is still in place," said Mr Ringwood.

"Experts have told us that if the ducks weren't fed we'd have a manageable and natural population of around 25."

The Environment Agency could do nothing as there was no flood risk despite their estimate that the river would widen out so much it would reach the edge of the main road through the village in a few years time.

It has taken six years for the village to get the necessary approval to do the work.

This first stage is being funded by a grant from the West Norfolk Partnership Fund of £12,230 and the work is being done, appropriately, by Drake Towage, marine contractors of Wisbech.

Gabions – wire mesh cages filled with stones – will be installed along both banks of the river and a thick layer of silt removed from the river bed to reveal the original pebbled watercourse.

When the work is done it is hoped that residents will volunteer to cover the gabions with soil and plant grass and suitable marsh plants.

The cost of this operation will be met out of parish council funds.

l To the second phase, the council has arranged a public meeting which will be held in the Ostrich Barn tomorrow at 7pm when the plans for the river will be explained.

This will also include the installation of a bench and work to restore the village pump.

An appeal will also be launched for volunteers to help with the river restoration work.