Baby deer rescued near Uckfield after getting stuck in hole

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS) received a call on Friday after a resident in the village of Blackboys, near Uckfield, could hear a deer struggling and screaming in some bushes and thought it was stuck in small river.

A local deer warden attended the scene, but the situation proved more difficult than first thought.

The very young baby fallow deer was about three feet 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 deer had no way of escaping and would have died if the residents had not heard the deer’s distressed calls.

WRAS’s founder Trevor Weeks MBE and experienced rescuer Ellie Langridge attended the scene in an emergency response ambulance.

Trevor climbed down the back of the stream onto some rocks and an old weir and attempted to reach down to the deer, while Ellie waited at the second hole in case it moved in her direction.

The frightened deer started screaming and jumping trying to get out, which allowed Trevor to grab the top of its front legs and chest and lift the deer up and out of the hole.

Although Trevor bruised a rib on the stone embankment in the process of grabbing the deer, he regained his footing and lifted the deer up, allowing Ellie to cover the baby’s head with a pillowcase to help reduce stress.

The spotty baby, looking like Bambi, was taken out into the fresh air and sunshine to be dried off and checked over.

Ellie Langridge releasing the baby deer back into the wild to reunite with their mother

The deer’s worried mum had been spotted several times by residents and it was decided by rescuers to reunite the pair.

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.

East Sussex WRAS is one of the biggest wildlife hospitals in South East England and has plans to build a new casualty centre.

Donations to the charity can be made at www.justgiving.com/campaign/eastsussexwildlifecrisis.