Firefighters save pig's bacon in specialist animal rescue

Crew used slide boards, strops and lines

Firefighters haul Pigwig out of the swimming pool in Hampshire. (PA)

Pigs aren't known for their swimming skills and this one found itself in hot water when it decided to take a dip.

Luckily, firefighters from Dorset and Hampshire were there to save its bacon, pulling out some specialist equipment to help the pig out of the garden pool in Ashley, near Ringwood, Hampshire.

A crew of Dorset Fire and Rescue's officers were mobilised from Ferndown at 4.50pm on Friday afternoon, and were later joined by Hampshire Fires and Rescue's specialist animal rescue unit from Poole.

They used specialist animal boards and lines, along with plenty of elbow grease from the local firefighters to help the animal, named Pigwig, back onto dry land.

Thanks to their hard work, Pigwig survived the ordeal after the rescue operation, which took around half an hour.

A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said: 'The crew rescued the pig from the swimming pool using specialist animal rescue slide boards, strops and lines to haul the pig from the swimming pool.'