Thirteen ducklings that fell down a storm sewer were saved by four quick-thinking and eager Windsor police officers.

The ducklings found themselves helpless at the bottom of a storm sewer in the 1200 block on Stoneybrook Crescent about 6 p.m. Sunday.

Concerned residents called police and four officers responded.

One officer ditched his belt, gun and holster and two others, showing some ingenuity, grabbed hold of his pants and lowered him headfirst into the sewer, where he grabbed the ducklings and hauled them about 1.5 metres to the ground above.

One officer took photos of the rescue. They only became public late Monday night when one of the officers tweeted the photos.

The butterfly net didn't quite cut it, so officers did what they could to save 13 ducklings from a sewer. (Windsor Police Service)

"It was a tactic reminiscent of Mission Impossible," Windsor Police Services spokesman Const. Andrew Drouillard said. "Our first responders could have waited for a net, I guess, but they wanted to get in there."

Police couldn't wait for a bigger net to save 13 ducklings so they lowered one of their own into a sewer to do the dirty work. (Windsor Police Service)

A flower pot, snow shovel and butterfly net were all tools police used in their rescue.

Mama duck and some of her ducklings waddle away from the scene of the storm drain rescue. (Windsor Police Service)

Police didn't get video of the rescue.