Deer rescued after ending up in canal near Wigan Pier

Firefighters and the RSPCA were called to Swan Meadow Road following sightings of the frightened animal swimming in the waterway at around 6am on Monday.

Other news: Police called after burglars target convenience store in early-morning raidIt took the crews almost an hour to bring the stricken creature back to land as its terror meant it became increasingly aggressive.

The technical rescue unit from Eccles was called and a boat was eventually used to bring the deer safely to shore.

The RSPCA was then able to use its equipment to get the animal out of the water.

Crew manager Simon Connor from Wigan fire station said: "It was scared and quite aggressive. It wasn't easy to rescue it at all because it kept kicking about.

"We didn't want to hurt it, we were treading a line between being forceful enough to get it out of the water and protecting it.

"At first we were trying to catch it but it kept moving around, but with the rescue boat we managed to corral it into a certain corner of the canal for the RSPCA to use their grab gear."

The animal welfare charity is giving the animal a check-over before taking it to a suitable place to be released back into the wild.