It’s a stag party! Surreal moment brazen herd takes over an east London housing estate

• Photographer Keith Ogborne spotted the herd of deer grazing in a housing estate in Romford, Essex
• He saw the deer looking relaxed despite being in the centre of a heavily populated urban area
• Mr Ogborne said the deer feel safer in the housing estate as urban people only shoot them with cameras 

This is the surreal moment an entire herd of deer were seen grazing on a housing estate after appearing to take a liking to city life.

The breathtaking shots show the deer sprawled across a small field surrounded by blocks of flats and cars just over two weeks ago.

Far from fleeing in fright from passers-by, one brazen buck even wandered over glare straight into the lens of Keith Ogborne’s camera as he parked his car.

A herd of deer have been spotted grazing in a housing estate in the Romford area of east London  by local man Keith Ogborne

He said the deer are not afraid of the housing estate as unlike the countryside, they are not going to get shot in Romford

Mr Ogborne said: ”Urban people shoot deer with cameras, not guns, so the deer have become less fearful of those who live nearby’

He said: ”City people, unlike rural people, have never harmed them so they’ve begun to feel safe’

The 49-year-old believes the deer’s relaxed attitude to suburban life shows they are becoming more comfortable with city dwellers, as they ‘shoot them with cameras not guns’.

Mr Ogborne, from Havering, east London, said: ‘Urban people shoot deer with cameras, not guns, so the deer have become less fearful of those who live nearby.

‘City people, unlike rural people, have never harmed them so they’ve begun to feel safe.

‘Now the deer are often, but not always, in that spot as there’s plenty of woods and parkland around the estate.

‘It was nice and sunny so I knew they would come out.’

Mr Ogborne was able to get unusually close to the deer while approaching them to take their photograph

Normally deer will run off if they are approached by a human but this east London herd appears more relaxed

Mr Ogborne said there used to be a problem with poaching in the area until the police launched a major crackdown 

Mr Ogborne waited for a warm sunny day before searching for the deer as he believed there would be a greater chance of seeing them out in the open

Mr Ogborne had been passing the area, where he used to live, when he spotted the impressive animals three weeks ago.

The full-time carer claims after a police crackdown on shooting, the deer have found a happier home in the busy suburb.

He said: ‘I was just passing as I’ve always lived in the Romford area and I decided to park up and take the pictures.

‘The previous poaching has stopped in the area as people report any gunshots right away now.

‘The police don’t mess about with gunshots. They [get the] helicopter up [quickly] as country park users and dog walkers could be shot.

‘I think the deer are from the herd that Dagnam House had before the Harold Hill estate was built to house bombed out Eastenders.

‘I have confronted people in the past as they had guns pointed at them, but I haven’t heard of that for years now.’

He said: ‘The police don’t mess about with gunshots. They [get the] helicopter up [quickly] as country park users and dog walkers could be shot’

Mr Ogborne continued: ‘I think the deer are from the herd that Dagnam House had before the Harold Hill estate was built to house bombed out Eastenders’

He added: ‘ ‘I have confronted people in the past as they had guns pointed at them, but I haven’t heard of that for years now’

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