Property show host Phil Spencer branded bloodthirsty for shooting deer

Television presenter Phil Spencer was today called a "bloodthirsty killer" after he shot a deer and then posed smiling with its carcass.

Spencer, 40, best known for presenting Channel 4's property programme Location, Location, Location alongside Kirstie Allsopp, said he was "chuffed to bits" after shooting the deer with a .243 sound-moderated rifle in Kent.

He said that he had wanted to shoot a deer for a "very, very long time" before taking it home to eat.

The hunting expedition, covered by online TV station the Fieldsports Channel, saw Spencer accompany farm manager Andy Crow, whose crops had been wrecked by deer.

The pair began by killing pigeons with 12-bore shotguns, hitting about 40 from a hide, while reminiscing about their childhood shooting habits.

However, Spencer's subsequent revelation that he'd never achieved his long-standing ambition to shoot a deer saw Mr Crow offer him the chance.

Spencer said of the fallow buck that he shot: "It's my first deer. It came out beside us, walked almost under us and I managed to get a cheeky shot on a slightly difficult angle.

"It didn't sound like I'd hit it - but I had. I am absolutely chuffed to bits. It has been my ambition to shoot a deer for a very, very long time." He then turned to look at the bloodied animal, whose head he was cradling, and said: "Thanks, buddy", before taking it and the pigeons home to cook a "grand Sunday lunch".

Louise Robertson, spokeswoman for the League Against Cruel Sports, claimed that Spencer's fans would be "genuinely upset" by his actions.

She said: "I am shocked to see Phil Spencer in this role of bloodthirsty killer.

"To allow a celebrity shooter to kill a deer purely for the entertainment of others is appalling."

However, Spencer defended his stalking and shooting of the buck, saying: "Because I've been involved in different types of fieldsports since practically I could walk it's always been around me.

"It's something I'm very comfortable about. It's part of me - it's my complete passion."

In the past he has actively campaigned for the Countryside Alliance, adding: "It feels very natural to me to be talking about it and making people aware of what's going on."

Countryside Alliance deputy director Rob Gray said: "One of our fastest areas of growth is in shooting. It is thanks to people like Phil that people are starting to realise and to understand what we are doing."