Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate in South Africa unleashes 1,600 Indian runner ducks into its vineyards to keep them free from pests.

The ducks happily dine on snails and insects, which allows the estate to be less reliant on pesticides.

According to the estate, Indian runner ducks are faster than other breeds because 'they walk rather than waddle making them far more efficient at covering ground'.

It adds: 'The ducks form part of a natural pest control solution. Our runner ducks are integral to the quality of our wines and our environmentally conscious principles.'

Ducks were introduced to the estate – which sits between the Helderberg Mountains and False Bay - by John Faure, a previous owner, who used ducks as a boy to keep his vegetable patch clear of pests.

He reasoned that they could also be used to do a similar job on a vineyard, so he bought six ducks at a show in South Africa and bred them.