Rudolf's reindeer friend does a runner from Tesco

Photo / Twitter / Warren Sherwood

Runaway reindeer Bjorn, aged five, sprints away from a Tesco store in a bid for freedom just five days before Christmas.

A reindeer caused mayhem when it cantered down a street in Britain pursued by a crowd of people after a car horn startled him at a Christmas event.

Onlookers were left stunned by the bizarre scenes as Bjorn, 5, caused traffic chaos, narrowly avoiding charging into a bus as he sprinted away from the Carlton Hill Tesco store in Nottingham.

Bjorn the reindeer charges down street after escaping from #Tesco (Pic: Warren Sherwood)https://t.co/exOlUYWssn pic.twitter.com/HQZkNBE9kZ

— ABC News (@abcnews) December 21, 2015

He was caught shortly after his escape, hiding in a startled homeowner's garden.
Gemma Green saw the animal galloping past her house and said: "I was putting some Christmas cards up in the window and just saw it come charging down the street. Then I saw a group of people following it. It was quite strange. It's like the scene from Arthur Christmas where Santa loses his reindeer. I thought I was seeing things at first. My partner was out walking the dog and he had to move out the way because it came charging past him."

Eyewitness Tony Morris said: "I think someone beeped their horn and it startled the reindeer, then it just started running away. It's gone up Carlton Hill and is just running around looking startled. It's just shocked a bus driver and was nearly hit by a bus."

The event was run by The Animal Company and had two reindeer, Bjorn, and Thor, 7, as well as Santa's sleigh.

Sam Manning, who works for the company, said: "We were coming down the ramp from the truck and he slipped the rope and managed to get away.

"They are flight animals by nature. Once they are in the pen they are fine, but because he got free he ran away.

"We managed to find him safely in the garden and get him back into the truck. Aside from that, everyone had a great time meeting Santa and having their pictures taken with the reindeer."