A HIGHBRIDGE woman has had a record number of hits on her photo website after she captured an amazing picture of a deer, which wanted to smell her coffee.

Joy Russell, 49, snapped the red deer as it casually strolled up to her sniffed the contents of her bike basket and hot drink.

The amateur photographer had been walking her dog Charlie when she spotted the deer in the distance – and initially mistook it for a dog.

She said: “I was sitting on a log with Charlie having a little break when I saw a couple in the distance with what I thought were two dogs. When it got closer I realised it was a red deer, which is not typical to this area.

“It was absolutely shocking and I started clicking away. The deer just casually plodded along, started having a little nose in my basket and sniffed my coffee. She was so tame, very gentle.”

Joy, who takes nature and wildlife photos, has collected her photos on Flickr. She said this was the first time she had taken such a photo and had 1,500 hits – five times more than average.

She took the photo in West Huntspill and believes the deer may have escaped from a nearby wildlife park. She added the deer had followed one couple for about one mile – then jumped over a fence, following another couple, which was her last photo of the animal.

To see the rest of Joy’s deer photos, click on the link by this story.