A272 closed after deer injured in 'hit and run' incident

The deer warden attended the scene at Curtains Hill between Buxted and Hadlow Down at 7.30am on Wednesday morning before calling the police, who closed the road.

The volunteer deer warden scheme is jointly managed by East Sussex County Council and Sussex Police, and they are trained volunteers authorised to humanely dispatch deer at the roadside when necessary.

Injured deer in the grass next to the A272. (Image: Unnamed deer warden)

It is believed that the person responsible for hitting the deer carried on driving.

East Sussex Wildlife and Ambulance Service (WRAS) has revealed that whilst increased signage around Ashdown Forest has decreased incidents, some surrounding areas are experiencing increasing collisions. 

The volunteer deer warden who attended the scene, from a scheme sponsored by East Sussex Highways, said that this particular location is notorious for collisions.

They said: “The road was extremely busy, so I called the police as the deer was on the edge of the carriageway, and they arrived at 8.10am and blocked the road with patrol cars.

“The deer was in an incapacitated state with an injured rear leg, and I know from experience not to approach the deer because they can run off into a live lane and cause further RTCs.”

He added: “When I approached it, the deer got up and made off across the other side of the carriageway into the woods, so thank goodness the roads were closed.

“Generally you’re able to get quite close to these injured deer because they’re in the last throws of life, but this one was still extremely mobile with three working legs.”

The deer warden stated that he would have humanely dispatched the deer if he had been able to approach it, which he reported to be the case 99% of the time.

He said: “It’s just a case of putting them out of their misery as the trauma is usually quite horrific, and there are few organisations to rehabilitate them, but the one this morning was fairly rare.

“It’s quite possible the deer will survive, but it would have been more humane to put it to sleep.”

He added: “My generic advice is that if you see yellow deer crossing signs, expect deer to be crossing, but this morning’s incident was well within those signage areas.”

WRAS has reported to The Argus that deer-related incidents have risen across the whole of the UK as their populations have grown in recent years.

Trevor Weeks MBE, Founding Director of East Sussex Wildlife and Ambulance Service, said: “Deer collisions happen throughout the year, but they become noticeably more frequent when the clocks change.

“This is because peak traffic times begin to overlap with dusk and early darkness, when deer are most active, particularly during the rutting season.”

Weeks added: “Historically, areas around Ashdown Forest have seen more than 500 deer collisions annually, but according to current forest signage, that figure has fallen in recent years. 

Weeks said: “We must all remember that we share our environment with animals as development spreads deeper into the countryside, as our county becomes more populated, the risk of wildlife collisions naturally increases. 

“While developers often include conservation mitigation measures for their building sites, far less attention is given to the long-term impact that increased human presence has on local wildlife and their welfare.”

Weeks discussed measures in the roads and vehicles that can prevent future collisions. 

He said: “Unless roads are designed with safe wildlife crossings, such as underpasses like those used on the A31 in the New Forest, equipped with electronic deer-warning signage systems, or vehicles are built with detectors to warn drivers of animals on the road ahead, motorists will continue to travel at speed and collisions will continue to occur.”

In light of the increasing incidents, Weeks also spoke of the growing pressures on wildlife rescue centres, and said that WRAS is developing long-term specialised deer rehabilitation facilities.

He said: “With more wildlife rescues closing each year, increasing pressure is falling on those that remain and, unfortunately, there are currently no local facilities able to care for injured adult fallow deer who are difficult to treat.”

If a motorist encounters a deer on the road, they should call Sussex Police on 999 if the animal is causing a road hazard, or 101 otherwise, and request assistance.