"I am not quite normal in my love of the sun," mused this academic-turned-farmhand. "Especially in March". At the age of 40 in 1940, Collis volunteered for the Land Army. .

Pork adverts which maintained British pigs have "very high welfare standards" were misleading and must not be used again, a watchdog ruled today.

Where would our imaginative lives be without boars? Hercules hunted the Erymanthian beast during his 12 labours; Odysseus was mauled by one when out hunting. In Celtic folklore, Finn McCool lured a rival to his death on a boar hunt. And, of course, fans of Asterix the Gaul know the stories would not be the same without Obelix's inexhaustible appetite for the roast variety.

Belching cows and pigs could start costing farmers money if a proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.

A football match was cancelled after wild boars invaded the pitch, leaving it covered in potholes. The animals squeezed though a gap in the fence at Soudley Recreation Ground in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and dug up large holes.

Now that the Government isn't going to have another go at getting 42 days without charge on the statute book - where does that leave the deal with the DUP?

Pigs are highly intelligent, inquisitive animals which often outdo dogs in learning tests. Indeed, some believe they are the fourth most sentient animals after primates, dolphins and elephants.

Never work with children and animals – at least if you value your dignity. Many members of the cast and crew of A Private Function vowed never to eat bacon again after they had finished filming Alan Bennett's waspish tale of snobbery and food rationing in post-war Britain.

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy went... to Westminster. Meet Winnie, the nine-year-old sow, photographed here, who trotted into the capital yesterday to draw attention to the dire straits the British pork industry finds itself in.

Armed police today shot several badly injured pigs after an animal transporter caught fire on a stretch of motorway.