Pig racing event in Bishopstone village attracts hundreds of spectators

Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of a Wiltshire village to watch Lester Piglet, Spongehog Porkpants and Piggy Stardust take part in an annual pig racing event.

The village pub, Helen Browning’s The Royal Oak, in Bishopstone, organized the event on Sunday and has been running the show since 2012.

Event organizer and pub owner Tim Finney said: “It grew from a small idea on a blackboard to what we have today, seven or eight hundred people.”

Attracting people from as far afield as Canada, the day has been described as “iconic British”.

Each year the event raises between £1,200 and £1,800 for Prospect Hospice, Swindon and North Wiltshire Deaf Children’s Society and the parish newsletter.

The 12-week-old pigs owned by Helen Browning’s farm are being prepared in advance for the big day.

A simulated route of approximately 150 m has been set up in the farm to accustom them to the event.

The first time they completed the course took about 30 minutes, in five days they completed it in 90 seconds – motivated by the organic bananas and avocados waiting for them at the finish line.

Mr Finney said the pigs were “clever animals and they are completely restless”.

The 10 competing pigs are bought for the day at a cost of £50, with the owners creating their pig breed names and colours.

Spectators can also bet on pigs at impromptu “Piggy Power” accountants.

Mr Finney said: “It’s a great day for the pub, I can’t deny that.

“But it’s also very useful to raise money for great local causes.”

A bucket of bananas and vegetables are used to encourage the pigs to trot along the course, although spectators anticipating the Usain Bolt of the pig world may have been disappointed.

Mother and son Rachel Huntley and Zac Lewis, from Wanborough, said they enjoyed the “weird events in the village”, describing them as “weird but very enjoyable to see”.

Mr Lewis was at the event for the first time and said he was “surprised” at how slow the pigs were.

Mr Finney said they were traveling at “less than half a mile an hour and a few of them were going backwards”.

They complete four races over a two-hour period before live music continues the entertainment.

Canada’s Tess Buckley and Harmony Jagla were also at the event for the first time and said they were “really excited”, adding that they had “never experienced anything like this before”.

They described Pimms Day and the Pig Races as “iconic”.