TWO rare white deer have been caught on camera near Holton Heath.

Daily Echo photographer Corin Messer was parked near Holton Heath Trading Estate around 1pm on Thursday when he managed to capture an amazing photograph of a white doe and her fawn grazing on the grass.

The animals could be part of the herd of about 150 sika deer that lives on RSPB’s Arne nature reserve nearby - which is also home to a white stag.

White deer are not albinos but instead suffer leucism, a condition that causes hair and skin to lose its natural colour.

Luke Phillips, Arne information officer, said: “White deer are still considered to be a pretty rare sight in the UK - but at Arne we have about two or three in our herd.

"It can be passed down through breeding but can also just pop up in a population."