A GIANT duck joined animal rights campaigners to protest against the "barbaric" conditions on duck farms which supply supermarket chain Co-op.

West Wickham-based Passive Pressure Animal Group (PPAG) held the demonstration outside Coney Hall Co-op, Croydon Road, as part of animal rights charity Viva!'s national day of action against Co-op on Saturday.

The duck sported a sign reading: "No Swimming: By Order of the Co-op" to highlight the plight of the aquatic birds which are denied access to water on Britain's factory farms.

PPAG's Jan Yarker said: "How can the Co-op justify calling themselves an ethical retailer when they condemn hundreds of thousands of Britain's favourite bird to spend their pathetically short seven-week life in prison-like factory farms each year?"