Canal deer rescued

A deer which became stranded in a Kidderminster canal had to be rescued by firefighters using a boat.

A passer-by spotted the muntjak deer swimming for its life in the Worcestershire and Staffordshire canal near Tram Street.

The stricken animal managed to climb on to a patch of brambles under a bridge near Round Hill Wharf yesterday.

A specialist boat rescue team from Worcester fire station was put into the water with three crew.

Firefighters placed a special boom across the water to stop the deer swimming any further away.

With the boat in place, firefighters tried to grab the animal with a rope noose but it sprinted down the canalside and into the cold water.

The deer swam back up the canal towards Tesco's and then wrestled itself on to a bank, exhausted.

Firefighters got the noose on it and wrapped it in a sheet before placing it in the boat.

The deer was taken to Charnock and Shepherd Veterinary Surgery in nearby Comberton Hill.

Staff put the deer in a kennel until an RSPCA officer arrived to take it to the Vale Wildlife Rescue Centre in Evesham where it stayed overnight.

Kidderminster fire station manager Chris George-Burnell said: "Deer are quite good swimmers but we had to get it out quickly because it looked pretty drained. It looked pretty distressed and had a cut on one of its legs."