Injured deer at Spurn nature reserve sparks barbed wire removal

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said it would be removing some if its barbed wire in certain areas of its Spurn nature reserve

A wild deer seriously injured when it got caught in barbed wire at a nature reserve in East Yorkshire has prompted owners to remove part of the fencing.

The animal had its skin removed from its left lower back leg when it became stuck in the fencing at Spurn, at the mouth of the Humber estuary, on Friday.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT), which owns the site, said it was "very concerned" and was taking action.

Campaigners said it welcomed the move after numerous requests over the years.

The deer had its hind leg stuck between two lines of barbed wire

Photos of the injured roe deer were posted on social media by resident Steve Exley who discovered it and had freed the animal.

He described how the deer had "trapped" its leg between two lines of barbed wire, "shearing its muscle to the ankle" as it struggled to free itself.

"We need this barbed wire taking down and we've been asking for years," Mr Exley said.

"It's not [an] isolated [incident]. We've been getting plenty of these occurrences over the years."

It is not yet known whether the deer is still alive as its whereabouts are unknown.

Mr Exley demonstrates how the deer's leg was caught between two lines of barbed wire

In a statement, YWT apologised for the "upset and distress" and said it was the "sixth reported incident in 30 years".

The trust said it used "double stranded" barbed wire to safely contain grazing cattle on the reserve, near Kilnsea, and to keep them segregated from the public, but would remove it from certain areas not inhabited by livestock and would look at adopting "single strands of either plain or barbed wire where appropriate".

Measures such as "deer passes" to further "reduce the risk of future incidents" were also being investigated, it added.

Spurn is a 3.5 mile (6km) long peninsula, which lies at the mouth of the Humber estuary