Silloth pigs: Feral animals on the loose in seaside town

Some say the pigs - seen walking around Silloth in Cumbria - seem happy enough eating grass

A trio of pigs on the loose in a seaside town have left residents both worried for the animals' safety and wary of unexpected wild encounters.

The porcine interlopers have been foraging around Silloth in Cumbria for weeks, residents said.

Some people said they were frightened after being "confronted" in the dark.

Adam Pearson said he saw the roaming animals near Skinburness Road and they "weren't aggressive, they were just getting on with what they were doing".

But he added "any animal like that, that's provoked, obviously will and can turn".

They were "big animals", he said.

Adam Pearson said people "just wanted the best for them"

The pigs are believed to have escaped from farmland near Solway Holiday Park, which was recently sold.

The new park owners said the farmland still belonged to the park's previous owner, Sam Hagan, and it had passed on residents' concerns.

Mr Hagan has been approached for comment.

Carole Blake said she bumped into the roving swine on an early morning dog walk.

"I had three pigs walking towards me in the black dark," she said.

"I managed to move a bit faster than the pigs and they just carried on heading into Silloth - they were just strolling along, quite happy."

The pigs have been along the seafront and in the town's grassy areas

Ms Blake said she believed the animals were being rehomed after the holiday village was sold but they were still in pens on the farmland.

"They keep breaking out of the pen and walking round Silloth," she said.

She was "worried about their welfare" and had contacted Cumbria Police, she added.

The force said it had been informed on Tuesday that the animals had been contained and police were not required.