Runaway reindeer sparks emergency operation in UK
A stubborn reindeer has escaped from a seaside town in England, causing Christmas mayhem among local authorities.
The reindeer escaped from a festive celebration in the Merseyside seaside town of Formby, a few kilometers north of Liverpool, and a major search operation was launched on Saturday.
The animal was discovered on a beach with thermal binoculars before being returned to its owners in Wales.
A spokesman for Southport Offshore Rescue Trust, also known as Southport Lifeboat, said they received a call at around 4.45pm asking to help catch the escapee.
Merseyside Police managed to find the animal on Formby beach but lost sight of it.
Concerned that he might fall into a nearby river, a quadruple lifeboat crew was called to help, as well as coastguards from HM Coastguard Southport and HM Coastguard Crosby.
The Southport Lifeboat crew managed to locate the animal using thermal binoculars and took it towards the dunes using quad bikes; here a police drone was used to track the animal.
The reindeer was “pretty tired” and was eventually laid down in the dunes to rest, where a veterinarian managed to calm him down around 1.20am on Sunday.
A spokesman for Southport Lifeboat described the evening’s events as “bizarre”.
“Pretty topical for this time of year, isn’t it?”
“Christmas was saved thanks to the fantastic work of many agencies,” he said.
HM Coastguard Crosby posted about the rescue on Facebook, saying: “Thanks to all the agencies involved, Christmas was saved.”
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