A friendly young deer found roaming streets and gardens leading to concerns for its safety - has been rescued.

The animal has been spotted wandering around Rainham since the weekend with many concerned about it having "no survival skills".

After a false alarm to recover the animal and bring it to a nearby animal sanctuary last night, the deer was spotted again at about 5pm today and has now been taken to a nearby animal sanctuary.

The tame creature was seen coming up close to people and walking in the middle of the roads after it was first seen on Friday.

Animal lovers were growing increasingly worried it would get hurt but it is now under the care of the Happy Pants Ranch near Sittingbourne.

Residents around the Marshall Road area of the town urged neighbours and people passing by to keep an eye out for the young buck.

Members of the Bredhurst Woodland Action Group put out a call for the animal which they said demonstrated it "clearly has no survival skills".

It was seen out of its natural habitat and dangerously close to the busy A2.

The deer was initially a source of entertainment with walkers getting up close to the animal after he was first seen in Bredhurst Woods before the weekend.

But concerns grew after he was later seen in Marshall Road – three miles away – and he was even spotted in a resident's garden on Monday.

Chairman of Bredhurst Woodland Action Group, Vanessa Jones, said: "When it was in the woods, as it's a wild animal, we would leave it be.

"People were then saying it was quite tame and coming up to them, which raised concerns, but it was in its natural environment, so we left it alone.

'People were then saying it was quite tame and coming up to them, which raised concerns...'

"If it's in a rural location, leave it alone – but if it's on the edge of a busy road, for the animal's own safety and for motorists' safety, it needs to be taken somewhere."

The group started working with Amey James, founder of Happy Pants, to attempt to recover the deer using her horsebox so it could be looked after.

Amey received a call on Monday night from police after someone reported it had been cornered in a garden but by the time she arrived it had escaped into woodland nearby.

"It was a concern to harming itself or a human through a road traffic accident and seemed unusually friendly," Amey said. "It was thought best to try just get it to somewhere safe, ie the ranch, where it could be further assessed.

"The deer is now safe and sound at the sanctuary, while we work out the best plan for its future. Thank you to everyone involved in getting it to safety."

Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.

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