Baby Mia was just one-week-old and weighed only 3lbs when she was found by kind-hearted Ernst Ackermann shivvering by the side of the road.

Mr Ackermann took the tiny fawn home to his family where she was raised by his wife Anita and children Isabel, Lisa and Christoph.

Anita Ackermann said "I fell immediately in love with that cute ball of fur. It was so tiny and vulnerable and it looked up at me with those big, dark eyes.

"My husband, Ernst, explained its mother had been killed by a car and I didn't hesitate in taking on the task of looking after her.

"For me it goes without saying that I have to help an animal in need. I just prayed we could keep her alive."

The family took it in turns to feed Mia sheep milk every two hours. 

"Very soon Mia started to trust us and she would come galloping towards us when she saw us approaching her with a bottle," Mrs Ackermann said.

Mia is now eight-months-old and enjoys walks with the family's dogs Luna and Josie, and playing with Henry the cat.

The Ackermann's have put a special collar around Mia's neck, and have put up a 'Mia crossing' sign outside their house.

Mrs Ackermann said: "Next spring she will be given the opportunity to go back into the wild and it will be interesting to see if she decides to go.

"Our farmland is not fenced off so she could disappear at any time if she wanted to but she always chooses to stay."