A WILD deer has been caught on camera in a park in its natural habitat.

Drone footage caught sight of the majestic creature roaming the fields of Darwen.

Retinair, a greater Manchester-based aerial project company, used remote-controlled drones to record the sighting.

The founder, Daniel Alan Grear, filmed the moment which he described as something quite special.

He said: “I managed to capture something a bit special recently.

“Whilst filming a property with a drone, a wild deer came out of the woods totally unexpectedly and started playfully going for the drone.

“It was in my home town of Darwen with some footage of the local area.

“It's a very rare site around this part of East Lancashire and especially to be caught by a drone.”

The Wildlife Trust for East Lancashire said: “The animal seen in the footage is a female roe deer.

“These animals are quite common in East Lancashire, but you are less likely to see them in the summer because they are hidden in the undergrowth which becomes thicker in the winter.”

“In the summer, the deer will tend to congregate in ones or twos rather than stick together as they do in the winter.”

Roe are active throughout the 24-hour period but make more use of open spaces during the hours of darkness in populations experiencing frequent disturbance.

The deer’s natural habitat is in woodland and woodland fringe as well as the moorland.

The animal is Britain’s smallest indigenous deer. They can grow to 60-75cm at the shoulder and weigh 10-25kg.

The last spotting of wild deer in Darwen was back in April this year.

Darwen Town Cllr Paul Browne, who represents Sudell Ward, proposed to put up ‘mind the deer’ signs to be put up on a road after two were almost hit by a car.

The roe became extinct in England during the 18th century, but survived in woodland in parts of the Central and North West Highlands.

Many populations have been reintroduced and there are now an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 roe deer in Britain.

The Trust said that roe deer are the most widespread native species of deer in the UK and commonplace in East Lancashire.

The Wildlife Trust added: “Drones are a good way to look at animals from a distance but be careful not to get to close because they will get frightened if you do.”