A muntjac deer has been rescued after becoming trapped in a ground-floor escalator at Marks & Spencer in Norwich city centre. The female deer, nicknamed Lucy by staff at Hillside Animal Sanctuary, was found inside the glass barrier area of the escalator on Rampant Horse Street.
Hillside Animal Sanctuary was called to the store after staff discovered the deer and worked to keep her calm while help arrived. The store’s Rampant Horse Street entrance was temporarily closed during the rescue attempt to reduce stress on the animal.
A rescue at the Norwich store
Wendy Valentine, founder of Hillside Animal Sanctuary, said the call was “certainly one to remember”. She said it was unusual to hear that a deer had become trapped in an escalator, even though the sanctuary is used to dealing with deer in difficult situations.
According to Valentine, the muntjac was found wedged upside down between two glass panels next to the handrail of the escalator. She said the animal had also got a foot caught in a bit of metal. An M&S blanket was used to cover the glass while staff tried to keep her calm.
Ian Hayward, who was sent to free the deer, managed to reach into the narrow space and remove her safely. One account said the rescue took about five minutes, with the deer being freed from a gap of around six inches. The sanctuary said she was then taken to one of its sites in a carrier.
Lucy’s recovery
Lucy is now recovering at Hillside Animal Sanctuary. The sanctuary has described her as “resting and stable”, and said she suffered only minor injuries. Valentine said the deer had been given the nickname “lucky” Lucy after the rescue.
Valentine also said Lucy had been more frightened than badly hurt, and that she had been settling in with food including branches, hogweed, grass and other plants. She later said the deer especially likes dandelions, hawthorn leaves and bramble leaves.
The sanctuary said Lucy will remain in its care because muntjac are classed as an invasive species, so she cannot be released. Hillside said it cares for about 100 rescued deer and has recently bought woodland for deer and wild deer.
How staff handled the incident
An M&S spokesperson thanked Norwich store colleagues for their swift response when an unexpected visitor entered the store. The spokesperson said the team moved quickly to keep the muntjac calm and, with help from Hillside Animal Sanctuary, it was safely rescued.
Valentine praised the response of store staff and said they had done everything possible to keep the little deer quiet until help arrived. She added that deer often panic when they are frightened and can run into unexpected places. In this case, the unusual setting made the rescue especially memorable for those involved.
The incident has drawn attention because deer are more commonly trapped in gates, walls or sheds than inside a department store escalator. For Hillside Animal Sanctuary, though, it was another call in a line of difficult deer rescues, and one that ended with Lucy safe and recovering.
Why the rescue stood out
The sanctuary said it is called out frequently to rescue deer, sometimes several times in a single day. Valentine said Ian Hayward is experienced in handling wild deer and was able to free Lucy without causing further distress. She added that the response from M&S staff helped make the rescue as calm as possible.
For Norwich shoppers and store staff, the unexpected scene was a rare one: a muntjac in an escalator on a busy city-centre street. For the deer herself, it ended with a safe transfer to the sanctuary and a period of recovery away from the store.
