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Mystery of nibbled roses solved as deer spotted on doorbell camera

Mark Stone caught a group of the animals eating the flowers in his front garden in East Sussex.
Mark Stone caught a group of the animals eating the flowers in his front garden in East Sussex. Mark Stone caught a group of the animals eating the flowers in his front garden in East Sussex.

A Sussex man has solved the mystery of his “rose thief” after several deer were spotted munching in his garden on a doorbell camera.

Mark Stone, 51, posted footage of the deer helping themselves to his roses on Twitter, saying: “Thanks Ring for helping us find our rose thief.”

Opera singer Mr Stone, from North Chailey, East Sussex, told the PA news agency: “We, like a lot of people, have been spending more time tending to our garden over the last couple of months and we have noticed that whatever we plant in the front garden tends to get eaten by something.

“We re-instated our Ring (home security system)… Sure enough they’re out there almost every night, a whole crowd of them.”

Mr Stone said he was “delighted” to see the deer in his garden using the doorbell camera on Thursday morning.

He added: “It’s such a great picture, even if it’s a slight shame for the roses.

“The good thing about those roses is that they do flower several times a year which will please the deer. They can come back and nibble the flowers once a month when they re-grow.”