Pigs injure golfer and force Lightcliffe Golf Club closure

  • Published
Pig on the courseImage source, Ruth Crawford
Image caption,

The animals, thought to be Vietnamese Pot-bellied pigs, were around the course for about six hours on Tuesday

A pair of roaming pigs injured two men and forced the closure of a golf club when they stormed the course.

Two runaway porkers, thought to be Vietnamese Pot-bellied pigs, hurt a golfer at Lightcliffe Golf Club, near Halifax, on Sunday, and the greens director when they returned on Tuesday.

The hog-wild pair disrupted play by "pushing golf trolleys and bags over".

Police eventually took the animals away after they moved to a nearby road and disrupted traffic.

Bosses at the nine-hole course in West Yorkshire said the pigs emerged from woodland at the bottom of the course and attacked a member.

Pigs and putt

Judith Crowther, the club's house director, said: "He got a scratch on his leg so had to go to A&E and have it cleaned out really well and get some antibiotics."

Image source, Jane Bedford
Image caption,

Oink-teenth hole: One was said to be "enormous with sharp teeth or tusks" and a second pig was smaller

They returned two days later and "scratched or bit the greens director's leg", with the animals on the loose for about six hours.

"We had to close because they were wandering around and took over the course," Ms Crowther said.

"They ended up outside the clubhouse on the ninth green and didn't seem to want to go away."

The course shut at 13:30 GMT, with approximately 15 golfers having to abandon their rounds.

After darkness the pigs moved to a nearby road and were photographed holding up traffic until they were eventually taken away by police.

Image source, Rachael Jackson
Image caption,

Hog jam: The course said police attended after the pigs disrupted traffic on a nearby road

The club said the pigs did not belong to a nearby farm and the owner remained a mystery.

After reopening, the club said: "It raised a lot of interest, but we're glad they've now gone and we can go back to playing golf.

"It was like a comedy script, you couldn't have imagined it if you tried."

West Yorkshire Police has been approached for a comment.

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