TWO pet ducks have mysteriously disappeared from a garden in Newport - and their owner is hoping they did not become somebody's Christmas dinner.

Stuart Szymanski, (pictured) of Lambourne Crescent, Bettws, has had the two ducks - Quincy and Crispy - since they were chicks.

But father-in-law Brian Higgins agreed to look after them in his garden at Nelson Drive, Ringland, when they became too big and too noisy to live in Mr Szymanski's flat. They disappeared from the garden on December 13, and Mr Szymanski said he thought somebody may have taken them to eat.

"They are a flightless breed of duck, so they can't have flown away, and there is no evidence that a fox was involved," he said.

"I would think somebody has taken them for Christmas dinner, but if somebody happens to know where they are I would appeal for them to get in touch."

The two fully grown female Khaki Campbell ducks went missing from the back garden at about 7pm on December 13. One of the ducks, Quincy, has a condition called 'Angel Wing' which makes her wing stick out.

Mr Szymanski has kept the ducks as pets for about one and a half years. He said the advantage of having them as pets was "fresh eggs every morning."

"I used to go over my father-in-law's once a week to clean them out and make sure they had enough food, but when I arrived that day they had gone."