In a misguided bid for the North Pole, two reindeer on show at a Sutton garden centre escaped from their pen, sparking a two-hour chase around the borough.

The reindeer, on loan for the Christmas season, had only been at the Woodcote Green Nurseries nursery for a week when they absconded through an open gate on Tuesday.

Sutton Police, RSPCA officers, nursery workers and concerned onlookers gave chase in a desperate bid to contain the reindeer, with police officers from Croydon being drafted in after one got as far as Purley.

Surprised onlookers watched in amazement as the 30-strong group ran down roads trying to restrain Basil and Parsley, but lacking Santa's touch the troublesome two just kept running.

PC Paul Wenham and PC Kevin Monk led the chase in their marked van, clearing roads and doing their best to keep the reindeer safe as they dodged through busy traffic.

One was finally recovered in Stanley Road by the pair, while his furry friend made it as far as Croydon before RSPCA officers caught up with him.

PC Monk said: "It was amazing - they were very fast and very strong. We did our best, but when we put the blue lights on they made another bid for it.

"It was a case of four wheels versus four hooves and it was hard.

"We were chasing them for a good few hours before we caught up with one."

In the end an officer put his jacket over the reindeer to calm it down and the group managed to get it safely back to the nursery in a transit van.

A worker at the nursery told the Sutton Guardian: "It was an interesting day, and we got a lot of funny looks as we ran down the streets.

"There must have been about four or five police vans joining the chase, and it took a few people to wrestle the reindeer down.

"I was exhausted by the time I got home."

General manager of Woodcote Green Nurseries, Philip Barnden, confirmed that both Basil and Parsley were back safely in their pens alongside two other reindeers, and they were unharmed after their little adventure.