Pigs on the loose in Thrybergh cost council between £1,500 and £2,500

The sow, boar and two piglets dug up ground near graves at St Gerard’s church in Thrybergh, and were roaming the streets for a week before their capture on December 2.

Father Desmond Sexton, from the church, told the BBC at the time that the pigs had caused ‘havoc’, and that people visiting graves had been left “very upset”.

During the last full council meeting on March 1, Councillor Michael Bennett-Sylvester asked what the cost was to the council, following the pigs’ escape, and asked if RMBC had ‘any hope of recovering such costs’.

Councillor Dominic Beck, cabinet member for transport and environment: “I think it is the most bizarre email I’ve ever received, which simply said ‘pigs loose in Thrybergh’. But it’s a serious question.

“We did incur some small costs in relation to the fencing that was used to contain the pigs, and obviously there was the officer time.

“We estimate, in total, was between £1,500 and £2,500.

“The officers have said that it is often challenging to try and recover costs in relation to events like this, but they will endeavour to do so if there’s an oppertunity.”

Cllr Michael Bennett-Sylvester added that the situation was “an example of an over stretched service coming against antiquated legislation, in something that really was a community concern, especially in relation to damage on the graveyard.”

RMBC officials said at the times that the pigs had been ‘captured humanely and will be rehomed’