A BABY deer had a narrow escape when it was plucked from a road after its mother was hit by a car.

The muntjac deer was rescued when a concerned passer-by spotted it in the road, and was taken to Wildlives Animal Rescue Centre, in Thorrington.

Rosie Catford, who runs the centre, said: “The deer’s mother was killed when she was chased into the road by dogs.

“Somebody saw the baby running around in the middle of the road and called the RSPCA, and they brought him to us. He wasn’t hurt, just young and very frightened.”

The deer, who has been called Juniper, will now be with the centre for several months.

Rosie added: “He will be with us for five or six months, and we have to bottle feed him four times a day at the moment.

“He will become a bit humanised, so when he is big enough, we will put him out in our deer pen to get him used to the wild.

“When he is ready and self sufficient, we will release him back into the wild.”