It’s an innovative solution to an old problem.

A brand new duck food dispenser has been installed at The Lough in an effort to dissuade visitors to the amenity from feeding bread to the birds.

The novel machine, which will dispense bags of duck-appropriate snacks for feeding to the local wildlife, can be found near the Christmas Crib.

Once it’s switched on, it will operate using contactless payment, allowing nature fans to offer the birds at the freshwater lake a treat without damaging their health.

Animal welfare experts have been warning the public about the dangers of feeding bread to the birds since 2009, when more than 50 ducks died in a suspected botulism outbreak. Bread can be damaging to a bird’s digestive tracts, while flour affects the oxygen levels in the water.

“Bread makes ducks ill and it does not contain the right nutrition or calories that they need to grow and keep warm,” reads a notice on the dispensing machine.

“Rotting bread pollutes the water and causes nasty surface algae, which kills local wildlife and gives ducks diseases.”