Pigs on the loose in Thrybergh caught and to be "rehomed"

The animals were roaming the streets around Saint Gerard's Catholic Primary School on Park Nook, Thrybergh, for a week before their capture.

Sightings of the wandering livestock around children and graves alarmed parents and local residents alike before Rotherham Council announced on Friday that they had been caught.

One concerned resident said it was not a “humorous” matter and she wanted the animals off the streets.

“There’s been a concern about animal welfare for a number of years,” she said.

“The pigs have been reported to the council and the RSPCA.

“They have now bred and they are out of control.

“These pigs are digging up ground very close to actual graves.

“I’ve raised concerns to my local councillor and the school.”

“As humorous as it might seem to some people that pigs are running wild, it’s not humorous that dead bodies potentially get dug up.

Rotherham Council’s acting head of community safety and regulatory services, Emma Ellis, confirmed the pigs had finally been caught.

“We have been working with South Yorkshire Police, DEFRA and partners to investigate this matter and locate the animals,” she added.

“This matter has now been positively resolved as the pigs have been captured humanely and they will be rehomed. 

“We thank local residents for their patience while we resolved this situation."