Deer 'humanely dispatched' by South Yorkshire Police after early morning collision with vehicle in Barnsley

South Yorkshire Police "humanely dispatched" an injured deer today following a road traffic collision in Cundy Cross, Barnsley.

False speculation that officers had shot two dogs forced the police to clarify the details of the incident. A spokesperson said: "At about 5.45am today (Tuesday, July 11) we received a call to inform us a deer had been in a collision with a member of the public's vehicle on Grange Lane in Cundy Cross.

"Officers attended and found the deer to have received severe injuries which were causing the animal to suffer.

"An out-of-hours vet was not available to attend the scene so powers under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 were exercised and the deer sadly had to be humanely dispatched."

South Yorkshire Police closed their statement explaining the decision was made to "prevent further suffering for the animal" and also to prevent further danger to other road users.