An escaped miniature pig from Pirton that dug its way to freedom and caused traffic chaos near Hitchin has been reunited with its family.
Flossie, who is just two years old, lives with sister Bessie and is owned by Claire Austin, who noticed she was gone in the early hours of last Wednesday.
"I first noticed her absence when I went to feed them at 6am. Bessie was there but Flossie was nowhere to be seen," said Claire.
"The pigs are very clever and manage to find ways for digging and pushing their way through the fencing.
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"Usually they only manage to get into the main area of the garden. On this occasion, Flossie ventured a bit further.
"When I realised that she wasn’t in the garden either I was concerned that she had found her way into the village and on the main road."
A search party was quickly launched, while friends and family appealed to local Facebook groups asking for help.
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Thankfully, Claire quickly located Flossie, who was causing traffic chaos on the road out of the village towards Hitchin.
"We have a very good community Facebook page in Pirton, so I immediately posted about Flossie’s disappearance," Claire said.
"Then I decided to drive round the village, and within about 10 minutes I came across a queue of traffic on the Hitchin Road heading out of Pirton, and there was Flossie trotting down the middle of the road on her way to Hitchin.
"A man had stopped and was trying to shepherd her back towards the village, but she wasn’t keen."
Thankfully, a kind passerby helped get Flossie back home and to safety, with Claire continuing: "Fortunately Charlotte, a florist in Shillington, was passing and offered to take Flossie in the back of her car.
"We off-loaded her flowers onto the verge and put Flossie in the back.
"She was then reunited with her sister, but she was pretty tired and had obviously eaten a good deal on her travels."
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