Richmond Park's management has issued a statement on the extraordinary events of last weekend.

In anticipation of heavy traffic Royal Parks urged people to leave their car at home.

The message was sent out at 4.24pm on Friday and did not get through to enough people.

Across both days of the weekend:

• car parks filled up by mid-morning as traffic on roads in and surrounding the park came to a standstill
• young deer were "penned in" by large groups of visitors
• police hinted at possible breaches of the lockdown restrictions on gatherings
• drivers were warned against parking on the grass

Many residents asked where the Volunteer Rangers – members of the public who give up their time to educate and inform visitors to the parks – were over the weekend.

Richmond Nub News has now learnt the rangers service has been suspended amid this new lockdown because of the public-facing nature of the role. It is set to resume when lockdown lifts on December 2.

The suspension of the Volunteer Rangers left Richmond Park with a reduced number of authority figures on a weekend when increasing numbers of people visited. Royal Parks Police sent out several messages over the weekend and had their hands full, even helping out with the rescue of a small dachshund from a rabbit hole.

Adam Curtis is assistant park manager for Richmond Park.

He said: "With limited places to visit due to the lockdown, all the parks, but especially Richmond and Bushy Parks, have been extremely busy, with people taking advantage of the sunny weekend weather to relax and get some exercise in the beautiful green spaces.

"We encourage people not to travel by car during the busiest times. Last weekend all the car parks have been full and the roads in the area have been busy with vehicles and cyclists, leading to long delays and cars turning around on arrival.

"Please take care and be considerate of others on your visit by staying a safe distance and consider visiting the parks at quieter times, such as early in the morning or during the week.

"Particularly at popular times please help us care for the park by taking litter home if the bins are full."

On Saturday a nursery of fawns was surrounded on one of the fields towards the bottom of Sawyer's Hill.

Asked about this incident, the Royal Parks said: "Deer are wild animals and visitors are advised to always keep a minimum of 50 metres from them."

The charity's website contains information on how to keep safe and to respect the wild animals.

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