Missing reindeer from Elveden Estate found after traffic chaos on A11 near Thetford and Mildenhall

Two reindeer who were causing traffic chaos on a major route in Suffolk yesterday afternoon have now been found.

The animals, named Blue and Blitzen, had escaped from their pen at the Elveden Estate, and were reported at about 2.30pm to be on the A11 near Thetford, with drivers forced to reduce their speed.

Police closed the dual carriageway for around three hours, but were unable to capture the reindeer, with the route reopened at about 5.30pm on Sunday.

The reindeer were later spotted on the Elveden Estate, one of the biggest farms in the UK, owned by Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family, but it was too dark to recover them, so they were monitored overnight.

They were finally safely captured between the old A11 and the new A11 at about 1.30pm today, after a third reindeer was brought along as well as some food, to tempt back the runaways.

Denise Sharpe, Elveden's courtyard manager, said: “I feel extremely relieved and very happy.

“We knew where they were in the evening but we couldn't get them during the night, so we went back and got them at first light.

“We’ve not slept worrying about it and it's just a massive relief, and I’m so glad they’ve been safe and sound.”

The animals, owned by Majestic Reindeer, had leapt to freedom from a pen at the Elveden Estate, with their handlers believing the pair had been spooked by something while on duty at the site's Father Christmas grotto.

They were being kept in a pen close to the grotto with people able to get pictures with them.

The A11 had been shut in both directions due to the reindeer wandering on the major route and caused massive traffic queues until the early evening.