Deer road deaths on the rise warns wildlife group

Volunteers from the Lincolnshire Deer Group help police when deer have been hit on the roads.

Mr Heath said hitting a deer could be “traumatic” for motorists and, because of their size, it was like “hitting a block of concrete”.

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He described the aftermath of a crash where one deer was hit by a car and propelled through the air into the windscreen of an oncoming car.

“It was still alive, so the driver was having to contend with hooves flailing around inside the cabin,” he said.

The British Deer Society said culling the deer population was the only humane way of dealing with the issue.

Charles Smith-Jones, technical adviser to the society, said leaving populations to grow would be “cruel”.

“It would lead to overpopulation, massive stresses, disease and ultimately starvation, “he said.