Moment trapped baby deer is rescued after getting stuck in flooded hole

Watch: The moment rescuers manage to free the deer. Credit: WRAS

A baby deer had a lucky escape after it got stuck down a flooded hole.

The alarm was raised by residents in Blackboys, East Sussex, who could hear a fallow deer struggling in some bushes and screaming on Friday (15 July).

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) asked a local deer warden to attend, but it soon became apparent the situation was "more difficult than first thought".

The very young deer was about 3ft down a hole in an underground channel in the rock inside the bank of a small river.

The underground passage was flooded and earth had collapsed down inside and the deer is thought to have fallen in. 

The animal had no way of escaping and would have died if the residents had not heard its distressed calls.

WRAS’s founder Trevor Weeks MBE and experienced rescuer Ellie Langridge attended on site in one of WRAS’s emergency response ambulances.

After an eventful few minutes they managed to retrieve the baby deer and bring it out into the fresh air.

Luckily a very worried mum had been seen several times by the residents whilst on site so it was decided it was best to attempt to reunite the baby with its mum.

Mother deer don’t abandon their babies very easily, but to ensure the human scent didn’t put mum off, rescuers rubbed earth over the deer’s body to remove any unusual smells.

The baby was placed next to some bushes, where it had plenty of cover, close to where the mum was last seen to help reunite them and rescuers quickly backed off and then left the area.

The residents and rescuers will keep a close eye on the area to ensure the baby is not abandoned and doesn’t get into further trouble.