A female muntjac deer has been rescued after becoming trapped in an escalator at a Marks & Spencer department store in Norwich, an incident described as a first by the wildlife sanctuary that came to her aid.
Unusual Rescue at Rampant Horse Street
Staff at the M&S store on Rampant Horse Street discovered the deer wedged upside down between two glass panels next to the handrail of the ground-floor escalator last Tuesday. The sanctuary's founder, Wendy Valentine, noted that while deer often get into trouble in Norfolk, getting trapped in an escalator was unprecedented.
Valentine explained that the deer had somehow entered the space between the glass panels and ended up upside down with its foot caught in a piece of metal. Sanctuary worker Ian Haywood, experienced in handling wild deer, managed to free the animal by reaching into the gap.
Calming and Rescue Efforts
To calm the deer, M&S staff covered her with a blanket before Haywood intervened. He held the deer firmly to prevent it from running loose inside the store. The deer, now nicknamed "lucky" Lucy, sustained only a superficial cut on her foot.
"It was fine, more petrified than anything," Valentine said. "It's lucky it didn't injure itself more than it did."
Recovery at Hillside Animal Sanctuary
Lucy is now "resting and stable" at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk, where she has been feasting on branches, hogweed, grass, dandelions, hawthorn leaves, and bramble leaves. The sanctuary cares for over 100 other rescued deer.
Valentine suspects the deer panicked after entering the store, as the escalator is centrally located. "When they go into deer mode and panic, they run into anything. They just get frantic – and that's how they often get themselves trapped," she said.
The sanctuary has previously rescued a deer from the ladies' toilets of a Norwich shopping centre. Valentine praised M&S staff for their swift response.
An M&S spokesperson said: "We're grateful to our Norwich store colleagues for their swift response when an unexpected visitor entered the store on Tuesday. The team moved quickly to keep the muntjac deer calm, and, with the help of Hillside Animal Sanctuary, it was safely rescued."
