Deer rescued from sea by fisherman off Cornwall

Jeremy Richards pulled the deer aboard his fishing boat after spotting it off the coast of Porthleven

A deer has been pulled from the sea off Cornwall by a passing fisherman.

The roe deer managed to get itself in to trouble about a mile off the shore of Porthleven.

Skipper Jeremy Richards, who said he believed the animal had fallen from nearby cliffs, came to the rescue when he spotted a seal slowly moving in on the bewildered animal.

The deer has been safely released back in to woodland by the RSPCA.

Mr Richards was handline fishing when he spotted something floating on the water's surface.

"I wasn't sure what it was. I mean we're used to seeing the odd sunfish or the occasional shark, perhaps a dolphin, but it had a very different look to it", he said.

"The closer I got, it got a bit spooked, but I could see that about five, ten metres behind it, there was a huge, great seal, a monstrous great thing, and it appeared to be keeping itself between the little deer and the shore."

Mr Richards circled where the deer was spotted in the water

Mr Richards managed to latch on to the animal and pull it to safety aboard his boat.

"He was really, really tired," the fisherman said.

"He seemed to settle quite quickly. I just talked to him for a second or two and he seemed to realise that I was trying to help him."

The deer was escorted back to the shore by his fisherman friend where he was handed over to the RSPCA.

"He got a bit feisty, he seemed to like the boat as his new home," Mr Richards said.

The deer ran off freely as he was released in to nearby woodland by the animal charity.