Kate Allen of holiday home company Salcombe Finest said she and her team were working in the garden of Pitchford House on Fore Street when they saw the deer jump down from the high terraced garden down into next door on Wednesday evening.
From there it bounced its way down the steep terraced gardens into the garden of a property looked after by Kevin Towns of Towns and Coastlines property managers, where it became trapped.
Kevin called the RSPCA on Wednesday evening and they came to rescue the animal on Thursday afternoon.
Becky Wardly, RSPCA, arrived in Salcombe on Thursday afternoon, and after a discussion with Kevin decided that it would be a good idea to get the Fire Brigade too, so Martin Clacy, Kieron Luscombe and Mark Roberts from Salcombe Fire Station turned up to help.
The deer, thought to be a young adult, male muntjac, wasn’t going to make it easy for its rescuers though, and spent a good 20 minutes jumping backwards and forwards between gardens and up and down the terrace.
Having dropped a long way at the start of its ordeal, rescuers were relieved when it was finally caught by Kieron, wrapped in blankets and a sheet to prevent over-stressing it, and carried through the shop Fifty Nine and out to Becky’s waiting RSCPA van.
It appears to have suffered a minor injury on its rear so Becky said she would take it to be checked over by a vet before it was released somewhere ‘suitable, quiet and nearby’.
The wooded areas of Salcombe are home to quite a large deer population and they are sometimes spotted swimming across the estuary to East Portlemouth.
You can find out more about the RSPCA on their website: www.rspca.org.uk and if you need to report an animal that is trapped or a victim of cruelty, contact them on 0300 123 4999. You can follow the work of Salcombe Fire Station on Facebook or on Twitter: @SalcombeF.