Week One – Deer

The team's first mission takes them to the A35 in the New Forest, Hampshire – one of the worst spots in the UK for deer and vehicle accidents. Across the New Forest, a deer is killed in a car accident almost every week.

The team set about investigating the habits of the local deer and take a closer look at the geography of the road itself. They identify an accident black spot. Many of the collisions occur on a fast bend where trees grow right up to the road verge, obscuring sight lines for both deer and drivers so that neither have time to react.

The deer need to cross this stretch of road for important foraging, but an overgrown underpass nearby appears unused by them and has to be cleared and landscaped. For extra safety, the team decide to develop a device to startle the deer away from the road as a car approaches. But will all this hard work actually pay off?

See the story in pictures in the gallery.