WILDLIFE photographer Martyn Knight ended up playing a pivotal role in an emergency helicopter landing when he went to Wilmersham Common near Luccombe to try and catch a glimpse of Exmoor's famous red deer.

Mr Knight found himself all but fogbound on the moor so decided to sit tight in his van in the hope the fog would lift.

But his peace was shattered when, rather than a magnificent stag, a helicopter loomed out of the gloom in front of him, barely ten feet off the ground.

"They saw me and decided to land. They'd obviously been following the road and decided to make an emergency landing because of the thick fog," Mr Knight said.

It turned out to be two businessmen from Surrey who were on their way to North Molton.

Mr Knight, who has a studio in Taunton, helped the pair secure the helicopter before giving them a lift to their destination.

"They were very pleasant but it put an end to my deer spotting!" Mr Knight said.