"ditch attempt" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to a failed attempt at something, for example: "She made a ditch attempt to finish the project on time."
The statute is not a "last ditch" attempt at conservation after nondiscriminatory alternatives have proved unfeasible.
The police union filed its own lawsuit against the city in a last ditch attempt to block it.
In a last ditch attempt, the doctor used a pair of forceps to prize the insect from his ear.
In a last ditch attempt to fix Symbian fast, Nokia took development back in house.
"That was a last ditch attempt to save Roberson," Ralston said.
"I resent any suggestion that tonight's town hall is a last ditch attempt to screw Sanders".
So this is my last-ditch attempt.
As it stands now, it's a last-ditch attempt, and an expensive one at that.
A naked girl walked into his office - a last-ditch attempt to beat the heat.
The move home to Africa was a last-ditch attempt to save them from extinction.
But in a last-ditch attempt, I decided to call a couple of airlines directly.
