A deer wandered into the Vancouver Quarter in King's Lynn today, as singers were auditioning for a slot on hit TV show the The X Factor.

It bolted into a clothes store, where shoppers and staff cornered the creature and put it in a storeroom before calling the RSPCA.

But the deer appeared to have suffered an injury to one of its antlers and aleg. And when staff from the East Winch Wildlife Centre arrived to collect it, they found it had died.

Nicola Eagling, who helped capture the animal, said: 'The rescue people told us it died of shock. We tried the best we could, trying to give it water out of our cupped hands but it wouldn't open its mouth.'

Deer are common in King's Lynn, hiding in secluded corners of parks, gardens and industrial estates.

The creatures are sometimes seen in the early hours in the town centre. In 2008 firefighters launched a major rescue operation after one fell in the Upper Purfleet.