CALLOUS drivers have been criticised by an animal lover who was horrified to find three dead muntjac deer lying in the road this week.

And now he is calling for measures to be put in place to keep the animals safe along our roads.

On Tuesday, Bill Potts discovered the carcass of a dead muntjac lying in Common Wood Lane, Penn, in the path of oncoming traffic.

Mr Potts, of Deeds Grove, High Wycombe, said: "Traffic swerved around it and it was upsetting to think that the driver of the car that struck it had obviously not bothered to stop to check to see if the creature was alive or dead or, indeed, if it could have been saved. If he had, he might have thought about moving it into the kerb, away from oncoming wheels."

While that animal was removed later in the day, Mr Potts found a second dead muntjac in the same road, while driving his 12-year-old grandson, Kristian Fisher, to school.

And on Thursday he found yet another. At first he wondered if it could be the same carcass from the previous day, but he said a woman who also pulled over told him it was the third fatality.

Now, Mr Potts, a former assistant editor with the Bucks Free Press, thinks the answer may be to have the speed limit along the narrow, winding, 40mph stretch of road reduced, and to have Deer Crossing' warning signs installed along the stretch.

He said: "One of the problems with that road is that it's used as a rat-run. I have had several near misses on it - it's pretty hairy."

Sean Pope, traffic officer for Buckinghamshire County Council, explained that it was not practical for warning signs to be put up wherever deers might be at risk, because there were so many of the animals in the area.

He said: "In rural areas it would be nice if people drove at more reduced speed. If people see those signs there is a good chance there could be deer about, but there are deer everywhere in this area, and I would say for people to keep their eyes open."

He added that more measures to keep animals safe had been discussed and tested around the Ashridge National Trust estate.

The Deer Initiative runs a website offering advice on how to avoid accidents, at www.deercollisions.co.uk. It also gives members of the public the chance to report incidents directly on the website.