Armed police, Royal Marines and Coastguard crews helped “save Christmas” after a runaway reindeer sparked chaos in a Merseyside seaside town.
The animal bolted from a Santa’s grotto in Formby on Saturday afternoon, prompting a major search across the area.
It was eventually spotted on a nearby beach using thermal imaging equipment and safely returned to its owners in Wales.
Southport Offshore Rescue Trust, also known as Southport Lifeboat, said they were called at around 4.45pm to join the hunt for the missing reindeer.
The animal bolted from a Santa’s grotto in Formby on Saturday afternoon, prompting a major search across the area
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SOUTHPORT OFFSHORE RESCUE TRUST
Merseyside Police had been trying to track the deer for several hours and briefly located it on Formby beach, before the majestic creature slipped out of sight again.
Fearing it could wander into a nearby river, officers called in the Southport Lifeboat quad team along with coastguard units from HM Coastguard Southport and HM Coastguard Crosby.
Using thermal binoculars, the Southport Lifeboat crew eventually picked up the animal’s heat signature.
Teams then used quad bikes to guide it towards the sand dunes, while a police drone kept watch from above.
Using thermal binoculars, the Southport Lifeboat crew eventually picked up the animal’s heat signature
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SOUTHPORT OFFSHORE RESCUE TRUST
By this stage, the reindeer was “pretty tired,” and officers hoped it would settle down in the dunes, which it eventually did.
A vet travelled from Salisbury with sedatives, with plans to tranquillise the animal so it could be loaded into a trailer and taken back to its stables.
Southport Lifeboat crews were stood down at around 10pm after assisting for roughly five hours.
The vet, supported by Royal Marines training at a nearby firing range, managed to sedate the reindeer at about 1.20am on Sunday.
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A Formby resident who saw the animal told the Liverpool Echo: “We thought it was a stag at first, but then a National Trust ranger asked if we’d seen a real reindeer.
“We pointed them in the direction it went – literally trotting north up the beach.
“Then the police arrived. They’re really worried about it getting onto the road.”
Another local claimed his dog alerted him to the animal after barking at it as the reindeer stood at the water’s edge.
Another local claimed his dog alerted him to the animal after barking at it as the reindeer stood at the water’s edge
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SOUTHPORT OFFSHORE RESCUE TRUST
A spokesperson for Southport Lifeboat called the incident “bizarre,” joking that it was fitting for the time of year.
They said all the emergency teams were more than willing to help out and each played their part in bringing the reindeer to safety.
The lifeboat crew added: “Christmas is saved thanks to some great work from multiple agencies”.
HM Coastguard Crosby also shared an update on Facebook, writing: “Thankfully Christmas is saved thanks to all agencies involved.”