It’s a narrow squeak for Lacock pigs (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

It’s a narrow squeak for Lacock pigs

7:00am Friday 25th September 2009

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Award-winning pig farmer David Wilkinson has spoken of his disgust after two boys broke into his farm and threw four-week-old piglets in the air.

The boys, aged 12 and 13, broke into Downland Farm at Bowden Hill, Lacock, shortly after 7pm on Friday and got into the pig enclosure.

A groundskeeper saw the boys pick up some of the piglets, who had only been weaned off their mother the day before, and throw them to each other before jumping into a tractor and driving it around the farm.

Mr Wilkinson, who recently won three gold Taste of the West awards for his livestock, said: “All the piglets are fine now.

“They had clearly been subjected to a bit of a fright and nothing like this has ever happened here before.

“We have had the odd silly things like people opening the pens and letting the pigs out but nothing like this.

“In all my 25 years in the business I have never experienced anything like this.

“These lads have now been caught and that is the crucial thing and it is now down to their families to sit them down and speak to them.”

After the groundskeeper dialled 999 the police helicopter was scrambled and directed officers on the ground to the boys’ location and they were arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals and taking without consent.

However, because the boys put the tractor back where they found it and because the piglets had come to no physical harm, no charges were brought to against them. Any punishment was left up to their parents.

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