TWO deer have been hit on the M61 — just two days after another deer was killed on the same stretch of motorway.

The animals were hit on the southbound carriageway at about 11.30am, between junction six near Horwich and junction eight at Chorley, before Rivington Services, with one surviving and another being killed.

The Highways Agency said that the driver of the car told them that one deer had been killed, but that another had managed to run away.

The incident did not cause delays, as the driver managed to pull over to the hard shoulder.

This comes after a deer was hit and killed on Thursday, after it got through fencing on the sliproad at junction six.

A spokesman for the Agency previously said that such incidents are not uncommon in spring, and they work with land owners to make sure fencing is secure close to the motorway.