A wild muntjac deer has been rescued from an unusual predicament after becoming trapped in an escalator at a Marks & Spencer store in Norwich. The female deer, now nicknamed 'Lucky' Lucy, was found wedged upside down between two glass panels next to the handrail of the ground-floor escalator at the store located on Rampant Horse Street.
Staff at Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk received an unexpected call last Tuesday from M&S employees reporting the trapped animal. 'In Norfolk, deer often get themselves in trouble,' said Wendy Valentine, founder of the sanctuary. 'They get stuck between walls and sheds, and in gates. It's quite common for deer to get trapped … but trapped in an escalator was a first.'
The muntjac deer was discovered with its foot caught in a piece of metal, hanging upside down. Sanctuary worker Ian Haywood, experienced in handling wild deer, carefully reached into the narrow space between the glass panels and freed the animal. 'Ian's used to handling wild deer … we're called at least once every day, sometimes two or three times,' Valentine said. 'He said he held on to it tightly … he didn't want it racing around Marks & Spencer.'
To keep the deer calm during the rescue, M&S staff covered her with a blanket. The deer sustained only a superficial cut on its foot, leading to her nickname 'Lucky' Lucy. 'It was fine, more petrified than anything,' said Valentine. 'It's lucky it didn't injure itself more than it did.'
Lucy is now 'resting and stable' at Hillside Animal Sanctuary, where she has been enjoying a diet of branches, hogweed, grass, and other natural foods. 'She's now settled and I'm feeding her several times a day. She particularly likes dandelions, hawthorn leaves and bramble leaves,' Valentine said, adding that she has never seen these items sold at an M&S supermarket.
Valentine suspected the deer panicked upon 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.' The sanctuary has previously rescued a deer from the ladies' toilets of a Norwich shopping centre. Valentine praised M&S staff for their swift and calm response.
An M&S spokesperson confirmed the incident, stating: '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.'
