Oh deer! Stags end up on landfill site
An unexpected sight greeted drivers as three deer were spotted wandering the Poplars Landfill site in Cannock.
Photography student Adrian Scotson snapped the three stags on the top of a brow of a hill watching the traffic passing by on A5190 Cannock Road yesterday afternoon.
The 46-year-old from Bridgtown was looking for locations for a project when he noticed the antlers of one of the deer poking up from the top of the hill.
The site is around four miles from the main Cannock Chase where the stags would normally be more at home. Mr Scotson, who is currently studying a two-year photography course at Cannock Chase Technical College and has lived in the town for 17 years, said: "I thought that was unusual and then I saw another one. They were just standing there watching the traffic for around 20 minutes.
"I couldn't believe it. I was amazed, I have never seen anything like that before and I thought it was unusual they would be near the landfill site."
Cannock Chase is part of an historic landscape dating back thousands of years. Wild deer still roam the Chase and are probably descended from the original herd introduced in Norman times for hunting purposes.
Thousands of people visit the Chase every year in the hope of spotting the animals in their natural habitat. But the deer are notoriously elusive and it is rare to see them venture so far.
The green slope at the north end of the landfill site is part of a newly-restored area being managed by Biffa Waste Services. Once an area of the site is filled it is capped off and sealed before trees and grass are planted.
Chris Blakeman, site manager, said: "We have seen deer on the restored area of the site on a number of occasions and we are pleased to see wildlife returning to the area."
