A rogue stag dubbed "Jeremy" after the new Labour leader may be finally nearing freedom after more than a week locked in a Croydon park.

Croydon Council said today it had found a potential home for the large red deer, who has been on the loose in Park Hill recreation ground since Wednesday last week.

The park, near the town centre, has been shut since Friday and placed under 24-hour surveillance to protect the deer and the public.

But park users have taken the inconvenience with good humour, naming the stag after socialist Jeremy Corbyn - because, the logic goes, they are both red.

LAST WEEK: Warnings to public as large stag locked in Croydon park overnight

EARLIER TODAY: Croydon voters give mixed views on Corbyn

While Corbyn was a mainstay in the headlines this week at the Labour Party conference, his antlered namesake has also been drawing plenty of attention.

The BBC and ITV despatched crews to Park Hill in Tuesday to film Croydon's new celebrity deer, who has even achieved international attention.

Visitors trying to catch a glimpse of Jeremy over the park's fence described him as "magnificent".

However, after being branded "sex-crazed" in salacious tabloid headlines - breeding season for red deer is between September and November - poor Jeremy may be relieved to return to relative obscurity.

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The council contacted animal sanctuaries and deer farms as it looks to relocate the stag, who is thought to have made his way to central Croydon along rail tracks.

A council spokesman said: "We have found a potential home for the stag and are working on its safe relocation."

Jeremy would probably have to be sedated to be moved.