'Beast of Bushy' attacks man in busy London park

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A man walking in a popular London park has been attacked by a rutting stag.

Quick-thinking passers by ran to help the unidentified victim, believed to be in his fifties, and managed to scare the animal away.

The attack is the latest in a series of similar incidents at Bushy Park in the south of the capital, which is home to 320 wild red and fallow deer.

Other recent victims have included a woman, a swan and a young girl who had to be rushed to hospital after being gored.

It is believed that the same stag is responsible for all four attacks. Locals at the park have dubbed the stag 'The Beast of Bushy'.

This time of year is the mating season for deer and stags, who aggressively compete for does.

A stag in Bush Park/PA

Witness William Harvey told the Daily Mail: 'I saw two stags running around bellowing at each other and displaying very aggressive behaviour.

'After 15 minutes of that they went their separate ways. The one that attacked the man ran at him from about 200 yards away.

'I think the man was trying to sit it out and hope that it would ignore him.

'It went for him and there was contact between the stag's antler and the man's legs and he went down on his back.'

Despite the attacks, the Royal Parks has denied it has a 'rogue stag' on the loose. A spokesman said: 'They're not intrinsically aggressive towards humans.'