A woman who has dedicated 30 years of her life to feeding ducks at a Merseyside hospital was given a surprise treat on her birthday by staff.
Betty Mellor has visited the pond at Southport Hospital every day for the last 30 years feeding the wildlife, with her turning up at the pond every morning without fail for those three decades with sacks of corn and loaves of bread to feed the ducks, fish and other animals and birds.
On Monday, November 7, she was greeted at the pond with her very own bench which read: "To Betty. Thank you for looking after the hospital's wildlife."
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Her daughter, Sue Mellor, and grandsons Lewis Evans and Max Pender, were there as she was greeted with a card, cakes and her very own bench to celebrate her 91st birthday. Sue said: “Mum and her husband, Brian, moved from Forest Road to Althorpe Drive nearly 30 years ago and ever since Betty has been feeding the ducks and fish every single day come rain, shine, wind or snow.
“Even after losing Dad in 2005, Mum has continued to come to the duck pond at Southport Hospital every day. Mum has Alzheimer’s and it has now become part of her Alzheimer’s routine.
“She goes through approximately 40kg of corn and over 30 loaves of bread a week. She feeds the birds in the gardens too.
“Mum is known to locals as the ‘duck lady’. I will continue to keep mum living in her own home so she can live her life feeding the birds and fish for as long as possible.
“She absolutely loves wildlife. She has so many bird feeders in her garden. You can tell which house is hers because it is covered with pigeons!
“It doesn’t matter what the weather is like, whether the sun is shining or if it’s raining, hailing or snowing, Mum is here at the hospital to make sure that all the wildlife is fed. They recognise her when she arrives and as she gets near they all come out to meet her.
“She loves it. She is doing really well.”
Southport and Ormskirk NHS Hospital Trust Director of Nursing Lynne Barnes was delighted to present the bench to Betty, along with a very special ‘So Proud’ certificate and badge. During the presentation, she told Betty: “We are really grateful for everything that you do.
“We have got you a So Proud Award because we are really proud of you. We couldn’t do all of this without volunteers like you. Thank you so much.”
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