RSPCA officer uses dish soap to free deer from metal gate

March 2 (UPI) -- An animal rescuer in Britain said she used dish washing liquid to help a deer that found itself wedged between the metal railings of a gate.

The RSPCA said animal collection officer Catherine Strawford responded to the house gate in Sutton Coldfield, England, when passersby alerted the rescue group to the presence of a muntjac deer with its torso stuck in the 6-inch gap between bars.

"The deer had obviously been running in the area at night and thought he could get through the railings in the gates but misjudged the gap," Strawford said. "As he tried to go forward he was unable to move as the metal had trapped him between his hips and his waist."

Strawford said she used dish soap to lubricate the deer's body so it could squeeze the rest of the way through the bars.

"Using the washing-up liquid enabled me to free the deer within 20 minutes," she said. "It was quicker than washing the dinner pots and so much more rewarding."

Strawford said the deer was bleeding through some minor injuries from struggling to free itself and she cleaned the animal's wounds before setting it loose into the wild.