MOTORISTS are being warned about the danger of deer on the road after police were called to more than 20 incidents in just two months.

There have been a number of accidents on Dorset's roads recently where deer are believed to have been involved.

During April and May, officers attended 21 incidents in West Dorset that related to deer.

Several motorists have contacted the Echo about deer on the road, some with particular concern about the Puddletown Bypass.

"There were around eight right by the side of the bypass," said one, "it worries me that they could cause a serious accident."

Another reported calling police about them.

On Saturday, May 28, a deer was hit by a car near the Football Club roundabout in Dorchester.

On Wednesday, May 11, the A35 near Bere Regis was closed for ten hours after a lorry crashed into a tree. Ambulance services said it is believed the lorry driver hit a deer before hitting trees at the side of the road.

Dorset Police said they were unable to confirm reports from passers-by that a crash early in May, where four motorcyclists where left with serious injuries on the A35 near Puddletown, was caused when a deer ran across the road.

Sam Hamer, a deer expert with Dorset Wildlife Trust said there were 'several factors' that could be contributing to collisions involving deer.

He said that there were more deer and more types of deer in Dorset, this was causing them to move more, adding that more areas had been fenced off and so the deer were looking for unfenced areas like the sides of roads to graze, adding to this the fact that cars were quieter now due to technological advances and that cars were on the roads 24/7 - it was a 'complex' issue he added.

Mr Hamer said that deer were most active around dawn and dusk.

He urged people to be aware of certain deer behaviours when driving.

He said that when a deer stepped out into the road, especially in herding deer, that drivers may not realise that there may be more animals waiting to cross. And so while they may miss the lead deer, they may be at risk of hitting the followers.

He said: "We might not realise that behind it in the wood there are another 50 waiting to cross. These animal go single file to cross the road when they are in large groups. You might not see the group in the woods."

He added that there were a "million" factors, he said: "There are more deer, there are more types of deer that are displacing those deer. There is more movement in the deer population. There are more cars and quieter cars."