A ROAD safety organisation is calling on drivers to take extra care to avoid collisions with deer during the rutting season

GEM Motoring Assist chief executive David Williams says: "At this time of year, deer are on the move and we are urging drivers to be careful. October is breeding time, and that means deer will be more prevalent.

"Deer are at their most active during the rutting season at dawn and dusk, so their activity coincides with times when the roads are at their busiest, through the morning and evening rush hours."

It's believed there's a deer population in the UK of more than two million, and recent research shows around 75,000 are involved in vehicle collisions each year, with 10,000 killed instantly.

The human death toll from deer collisions ranges between 10 and 20 annually, and industry estimates put the cost of damage to vehicles alone to be at least £17 million.