A lovesick red deer has chosen an unusual place to look for a new mate – a herd of cows.

Lonely after losing its own group, the confused female has joined up with the Aberdeen Angus cattle and is now said to be looking for a mate.

Experts say the doe is unlikely to leave the group until it becomes less frisky.

But it is more a case of d’oh! for the farmers who own the cows.

They are angry because every time they try to round up the cattle, who live on Ditchling Common, the deer excitedly runs between the group and splits them up.

Elaine Taylor, of Stocks Farm in Ditchling, said: “It might seem cute but the deer is a real nuisance for us.

“The deer has been here since April. I’m not looking forward to trying to bring the cattle down from the common in November.”

Red deer are rare in England and normally prefer the solitude of the Scottish Highlands.

But it is not unheard for them to join other herds. In another instance a deer joined up with a group of alpacas in Hampshire.

David Kenyon, from the British Deer Society, said: “Red deer are a herding species and she has probably become detached from her group and latched on to the herd of cattle.

“This is not unheard of but is quite rare.

“As the deer has been with the herd since April it is possible the deer is one of last year’s calves split from the herd when her mother gave birth to a new calf this spring and rejected the doe causing her to wander off.”

Once the doe finds a mate or goes off the idea of romance altogether, it is likely she will calm down and leave the herd, Mr Kenyon said.

For more information, go to the British Deer Society’s website at bds.org.uk.