Flipping elk: Six large deer stolen from Somerset farm

They could have at least waited until after Halloween. Six large deer have been stolen from a farm in Somerset, prompting a police investigation.

On either Thursday of Friday last week – when they were still more than 80 days until Christmas – thieves are believed to have cut a gap in the boundary fence of a farm near Yeovil, and taken four elks away in a vehicle. Police think two further animals escaped of their own accord after the thieves had departed.

Pc Jackie Poole, of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, said: “This is an unusual theft and would have required a vehicle, and probably quite a bit of time, to complete.

”I would ask people in the area at the time to cast their mind back and see if they remember seeing anything suspicious.”

The area is not covered by CCTV, making the job of recovering the deer particularly difficult, so the police are asking members of the public to be vigilant. But they appear to have ruled out the possibility of a benign motive, or the involvement of elves.

“I am particularly interested in speaking to anyone who has been approached about elk meat or anyone who saw a vehicle in the area which was capable of stealing these animals. It is possible that dogs were used to help herd the animals,” Pc Poole added.

So far enquiries in the town have yielded little in the way of leads, although last year the Frankie & Benny’s restaurant installed a Santa’s Grotto with “real life reindeer” which they have claimed was “a huge success.”