SECURITY has tightened up at a nature reserve in the form of a guarding goose.

Gandelf the gander has been rehomed to Bobbit's Hole Nature Reserve in Main Road, Dovercourt.

But he's not sitting idily at his new home, where he's taken to the floating raft, as he's become the new guard for the resident ducklings.

Aileen Farnell from the Harwich Society, which owns and runs the reserve, said: "The idea of a goose in Bobbit’s Hole was to try to discourage the visiting heron, which was responsible for the disappearance of our ducklings last year.

"We've tried all sorts of things to deter the heron from coming, but so far the goose has had the desired effect."

Bobbit's Hole, behind Asda, is open Sundays 10am to 12noon with a special open day on Sunday August 10 in aid of Hedgehog Rescue.