Stag saved after going wild at Wilko

A DEER which was discovered wandering around a Wilkinson store has been rescued and released.

Shop workers were alarmed when the unusual intruder popped in for a visit on Thursday, July 31.

The young stag with antlers entered the shop in Castle Walk, Newcastle, at 7am and slipped and slid round the shop for about 10 minutes before being ushered out by staff. It then ran off up the street.

And the stag has now been rescued by the RSPCA after inspectors were called to a BT enclosure in Bradwell, about two miles from the town centre on Wednesday.

RSPCA spokesman Judith Haw said: "We are happy to report a successful rescue has taken place.

"It took three people to contain the deer. It was then put in a box and covered over to keep it calm. The deer was also checked for any injuries.

"It was a young male roe deer with antlers and was uninjured. There are other roe deer in Hanchurch Woods so it has been released there.

"A possible explanation could be the animal got lost in the town under the cover of darkness and was unable to find its way back to where it came from.

"It is not uncommon to find muntjac deer in towns and they survive in urban areas. However, roe deer are not commonly found in towns and are not equipped to survive in them."

There had been a couple of other sightings of the deer reported to the RSPCA before it was captured but it kept disappearing before it could be caught by the authorities.

After its spree in Wilkinson, it was spotted outside the Borough Arms Hotel in King Street and The Brampton.

RSPCA inspector John Groarke, pictured below, caught the animal.

It had become trapped inside a BT exchange in Lansdell Avenue in Bradwell.

He said: "Neighbouring residents told us the deer had been trapped for about three days.

"But the fenced area had plenty of grazing with bushes and hedges for it to hide in.

"We had to establish whether it was a muntjac deer or an indigenous species.

"If it had been a muntjac, we would have had to leave it to escape itself.

"But I was glad to see it was a roe deer, so we were able to capture and release it because they cannot survive in urban areas.

"It had a slight limp but was very mobile and moving quickly so I had to get a couple of colleagues to help.

"We spent about two hours planning a rescue, which took about 10 minutes.

"We had to get the animal out of the bushes where it was hiding and used netting to capture it. Then we grabbed the antlers and sat on it.

"The most dangerous part of a deer is its legs. They are very strong and the hooves are sharp.

"I got caught with a couple of strikes but nothing too serious."

Mr Groarke and his colleagues from Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, near Nantwich, then transported the deer in a box to Hanchurch woods.

Andrew Smith, from the wildlife centre, said: "We are not often involved in deer rescues because of concerns about blue tongue being carried by flies. We have to be very strict. We rarely have them at the centre but we are always happy to give advice to the inspectors and we were very pleased to help in this case."