A man armed with a simple kayak led a muntjac deer to the shelter of the River Wensum in Norwich.

Bill Branston, 28, a piano and guitar teacher who lives in Norwich, was at his home when his girlfriend, Tilly Carruthers, 25, saw what she thought was her dog in the River Wensum on Wednesday May 26.

At second glance, they realized that their Italian greyhound, Nugent, was safe inside and the animal in the water was a muntjac deer.

Bill Branston, 28, and his dog Nugent (@DailyNugent on Instagram)
– Credit: Matt Colley

After calling a wildlife rescue charity, the deer swam upstream and was not seen again until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 28.

“I called the wildlife rescuer again [on Friday] but he said he was too far away to come and get the deer, “said Mr. Branston.” I told him I had a kayak and he said I should try and land it myself.

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“I got on the kayak and tried to round up the deer upstream towards the beef ribs.

Bill Branston, 28, a piano and guitar teacher who lives in Norwich, rescued a muntjac deer from the River Wensum
– Credit: Bill Branston

“I’ve never done anything like this before, I was about to go to the pub and told my friend I was going to be late and what I was doing. They thought I was crazy.”

It took Mr. Branston about 30 minutes to get the deer to land using his kayak, which he had received as a gift from a student.

“It looked like the deer had been there for a few days, it was shaking and really in distress when I saved it.

“He was running away and trying to get away from me, so I just followed him with the kayak up the river.

Bill Branston, 28, a piano and guitar teacher who lives in Norwich, rescued a muntjac deer from the River Wensum
– Credit: Bill Branston

“There were people paddling on the deck and they scared the deer from coming towards me and I kind of drove him to the slipway.

Once the deer set its feet on the ground, it escaped the scene and Mr. Pover received applause from a small crowd of people on the river bank.

Mr Branston said: “It was great to get the deer out of the water after seeing it so distressed.

“I always went to the pub afterwards.”