A fishing boat skipper was shocked to find a young deer half a mile out to sea - and helped it onboard and back to shore.

Mark Bowditch, 56, was on a mackerel fishing charter when he spotted the animal in fifty meter deep water.

The deer, which appeared to be a young Red Deer Doe, was exhausted by the time it was brought onto the boat by Mark and his charter guest Morgan Lloyd.

"Initially I just thought it was a basking shark swimming slowly across the surface," he said.

"Then when I got a little bit closer and it turned, I saw it had two ears!"

The event was observed closely by his partner Natasha and their three children, who were in the boat off Weymouth.

Seeing the deer was in distress, Mark quickly brought his boat closer so they could bring the deer aboard.

"We got the mackerel lines in so it wouldn't get caught, and then made a sort of lasso to catch it with," he said.