A Cornish fisherman has landed his most unusual catch yet - a healthy roe deer fawn.
Jeremy Richards, a sea captain from Porthleven, was about a mile out to sea when he spotted the animal paddling through the waves pursued by a large seal.
After managing to catch the deer with a fishing net, he took the animal onboard his boat, where it sat peacefully on the deck.
Mr Richards covered the creature with a blanket while he waited for an RSPCA officer to arrive and inspect it.
The deer was later safely released back into nearby woodland.
Speaking to the BBC about the incident, Mr Richards said he had initially been handline fishing when he noticed something floating nearby on the water's surface.
"I wasn't sure what it was. I mean we're used to seeing the odd sunfish or the occasional shark, perhaps a dolphin, but it had a very different look to it," he said.
"The closer I got, it got a bit spooked, but I could see that about five, ten metres behind it, there was a huge, great seal, a monstrous great thing, and it appeared to be keeping itself between the little deer and the shore."
He added that the fawn was "really, really tired" upon being pulled up onboard, but was quick to settle into his new belongings.
"I just talked to him for a second or two and he seemed to realise that I was trying to help him," Mr Richards said.
The animal was so comfortable, in fact, that he didn't appear too keen to depart when being handed over to the RSPCA, he added.
"He got a bit feisty, he seemed to like the boat as his new home," Mr Richards said.
