A pair of siblings have carried out a moonlight rescue of a deer drowning in their neighbours swimming pool.

Toby Brymer, 27, was woken at around 3:30am Wednesday by the sound of splashing in his neighbour’s pool on Ballards Farm Road, in South Croydon.

Glancing out the window, Mr Brymer, who works in aviation insurance in the city of London, saw a deer struggling to stay afloat.

After throwing on some clothing, he rushed through hedges into the neighbour's garden, to the aid of a fully-grown female roe deer struggling in the pool, which reaches roughly two metres at its shallow end to two and a half at its deepest.

Despite spending 20 minutes attempting to pull the deer out of the step-less pool with a pole, he found she was just too heavy to manoeuvre and sought help from his sister Lucy, who called the RSPCA.

Ms Brymer, 24, was on the phone for half an hour until the RSPCA arrived and even though he was warned not to get into the water, Mr Brymer jumped in as a last resort to rescue the suffering doe.

He said: "I jumped in wearing my hoodie and trackies and the pool was absolutely freezing, it took my breath away."

After brave efforts to get a hold of the deer, Mr Brymer backed away to the side of the pool when the deer eventually approached him.

He said: "This was the most surreal bit, she gave up and swam right up towards me and she lay completely motionless, with her head resting on my shoulder.

"It took about 45 minutes to then lever her out of the pool." The deer lay on the grass shivering while Ms Brymer and a member of the RSCPA put blankets, kitchen foil and hot-water bottles on her.

The doe attempted to bolt a few times but collapsed and the RSPCA officer suggested she may have to be put down due to her condition, otherwise she may go into shock and die of hypothermia.

At about 5:30am, Mr and Ms Brymer and the RSPCA officer left the deer on the grass to recover alone and by 7am, she had got up and walked away.

Throughout the ordeal the owner of the house, an elderly woman, remained asleep.