Echo the duck loves to play football after being taught by her owner at 10 weeks old

ECHO the duck loves to play football — and is pluming good at it.

Owner Joe Nutkins, 42, taught her at ten weeks — and now the one-year-old bird is at the beak of her game.

She punts the ball with her bill along with Joe’s three dogs, gliding around like former England star Chris Waddle.

Joe, a dog trainer, said: “She absolutely loves it — she’s such a talented little duck.

“I just put little bits of her favourite food near the ball and she starts knocking it around.

“Now if I drop anything she starts pushing it round the floor.”

Dog trainer Joe said she was teaching pooches to spin via Zoom when Echo suddenly joined in.

She then taught her some ball skills — and saw she had a quacking technique.

Animal lover Joe, who also owns parrots, quails, cockerels plus 40 chickens and ducks, said: “Echo comes in the house during the day and practises with the dogs.

“It’s amazing. None of our other ducks have played before.”

Joe, of Little Oakley, Essex, also dismissed claims she supports Quackburn.

She said: “She’s a Colchester United fan through and through.”