A very rare sighting of a black deer has been captured on film by a wildlife enthusiast.

Woodland manager Stephen Sangster snapped the footage of the unique animal after placing a hidden camera in woodland, near Cranbrook.

The clip shows a black-coated sika deer sauntering in from the right before turning to look almost down the lens.

The species of deer usually has a yellow-brown coat during summer months, becoming a darker brown for the winter but it is rare to see one fully black.

Stephen told KentOnline: “It’s a very unusual sight and I’ve been observing wildlife in this woodland for seven years and never seen one like it.

“There is some debate whether the black is caused by a melanistic gene defect or whether it’s just the winter coat of the deer which can be dark brown.

“I think it’s the former given how black it is.”

Though melanism is quite common in other mammals, for deer, it is one of the rarer forms of genetic mutation, being caused by an increased development of the melanin pigment.

Rare sightings of differently coloured animals have popped up often across Kent, most recently an albino Starling was spotted in Minster, Sheppey.

Albino squirrels have also been seen in Maidstone and Walderslade while drivers in Senacre slowed down to see a fully white badger dead on the side of the road.

Stephen explained how Sika deer are also rare to Kent, but numbers are spreading across the country.

The species originated from Asia but was introduced in parks across the UK in 1860.

There are around 11,900 sika deer in the UK with 2,500 of them being recorded in England.

In comparison, there are over 350,000 red deer in the UK with 12,000 in England.

They are mostly found in Scotland with significant populations also being found in Cumbria, Dorset and the New Forest.