Visitors to Bushy Park have been warned to stay away from its wild animals after one group was caught on camera getting a little too close.

Mary Craddock, 64, lives in Teddington's Queens Road and was in the park on Wednesday afternoon with her daughter and three young grandchildren. She took photographs of people holding out food for the deer.

She said it was the first time she had seen the deer approach people and come so close.

Ms Craddock said: "I hate to see the deer treated like pets.

"I worry that when these deer get older and bigger they could approach and hurt people."

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A spokesman for The Royal Parks reinforced the message that the deer are wild animals and can behave unpredictably.

He said: "This is more likely if they become stressed by the presence of dogs or people standing nearby. 

"For their own safety, we ask that people stay at least 50m from deer all year round, and exercise particular caution during rutting season in the Autumn.  They should also never feed or touch a deer, avoid getting between two deer and never photograph deer at close range."