Deer rescued after its antlers are caught in cricket netting

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service were called after the trapped animal was spotted at Burridge Cricket Club, at 10am on Friday.

The RSPCA were also called and staff from both organisations helped to free the roebuck.

The animal had become 'more and more stuck' as it panicked, according to Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service animal rescue specialist Jim Green.

He said: 'We found a young male roe deer which had got caught its antlers caught in netting.

'As the deer had panicked, it had got more and more stuck.

'Deer can get stressed very quickly and don't like human contact.'

The rescue specialist recommended anyone finding a trapped animal to not attempt to free it and call the RSPCA.

He added: 'Incidents like this are very rare, but it's good practise to tidy nets away and tie up any loose netting that might entangle wildfire.'

The RSPCA has previously issued a warning regarding nets, stating: 'We understand that many people are not aware that netting used to fence off areas and netting used for gardening or in sport can be really dangerous for animals – we’re trying to raise awareness of this.

'We would urge those using netting for sports to remove and store all nets after their game and put any discarded or old netting safely in a bin. Any garden netting, such as pond netting, should be replaced with solid metal mesh.'