Wild boar at large after dash for freedom

Somewhere among the woodland which surrounds the market town of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, a fugitive lies in hiding unaware of the fuss his great escape from captivity has caused.

Somewhere among the woodland which surrounds the market town of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, a fugitive lies in hiding unaware of the fuss his great escape from captivity has caused.

Following in the footsteps of the Tamworth Two pigs, a wild boar has made an attempt for freedom from a slaughterhouse. Known as Houdini for his death-defying escapade from the Scottish Borders Abattoir in the town's Winston Road, the boar spent most of yesterday dodging police and slaughtermen trying to recapture him among the bushes on the outskirts of the town.

The animal's fate now rests on either evading capture or engendering the sympathy of the general public.

In 1998, the Tamworth Two caused a media frenzy after they escaped from an abattoir in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

The public was advised by Lothian and Borders Police not to approach the latest escapee as experts warned that wild boar could be dangerous if cornered or frightened.