Our beautiful village is ruined by 'renegade gang' of escaped PIGS - they tear up our gardens and no one can catch them

A GANG of ‘renegade’ pigs have been rampaging round a beautiful village causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

The rogue swines escaped from a nearby farm and have started terrorising residents of Garvestone, Norfolk.

A ‘renegade gang’ of five pigs have been caught tearing up gardens in a Norfolk villageCredit: SWNS

CCTV footage of pigs in a garden. — CCTV footage shows the pigs roaming around the premises of residents’ homesCredit: SWNS

Man standing in front of his house with a lawn dug up by pigs. — Colin Williams claims he will have to spend more than £1,000 to cover the damage done to his gardenCredit: SWNS

Local Colin Williams discovered five pigs on CCTV in his garden and claims the damage will cost him more than a hefty £1,000 to repair.

“We came here to live in this lovely village but now the first thing you see when you cross the railway is mullered grass,” he complained.

“We just want this to stop.”

The pig incidents usually involve one or two hogs but, like in Colin’s case, up to five have been spotted at a time.

He’s desperate for the pigs to stop digging up his lawn and feels like he is running out of authorities to turn to for help.

The fuming villager notified the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Animal Welfare and the Animal and Plant Health Agency about the issue as well as called the police.

Couple Lorraine and Phil Williams, unrelated to Colin, have begged a number of organisations to help them tackle the problem.

Phil said: “I’m angry.

“We just know it’s such a lot of money to fix this.”

Lorraine added: “We’ve been told this is a civil matter.

“I’m now looking to speak with Citizens Advice about what we can do.”

Despite the hoodlum hogs being rounded up and returned to the farm, the escapes keep occurring.

To the dismay of residents, more pigs appear to break out each time they run loose.

They target homes along Town Lane and Tanners Green, on both sides of the Mid Norfolk Railway – with the most recent raid unfolding last Sunday.

A couple stands in front of their house on Tanners Green, where the lawn has been dug up by pigs. — Gary and Anita Laws have had their front lawn churned up by pigsCredit: SWNS

Portrait of a couple standing in a cluttered garage. — Trevor and Danielle Armiger own the pigs and believe someone has been letting the pigs looseCredit: SWNS

Couple standing in their garden, which has been damaged by pigs. — Lorraine and Phil Williams have also been victims of the pig ‘gang’Credit: SWNS

Gary, another exasperated local, has also been a victim of the pigs and had his lawn completely churned up.

He asked: “What is the point of putting it all back if they’re just going to come back again?”

One resident put a fence up to protect his lawn from being savaged by the swine but they even managed to trample his property by using a neighbour’s garden as access.

The owner of the pigs Trevor Armiger keeps around 100 pigs at Orchard house and believes a saboteur has been letting them out.

“There’s nothing we’ve been doing to let them out and as soon as we’re aware they’re out, we bring them back,” he said.

The farmer has CCTV footage and broken locks to support his claim that someone’s been cutting the locks of the pig pen.

His wife, Danielle Armiger said they’ve never had this issue before and urged locals to take that into account.

She said: “We’ve got proof of someone coming in and letting the pigs out. But people around here aren’t listening to the whole story.

“Trevor has kept pigs here for over 40 years and since August, someone has been letting them out.”

A spokesman for the Norfolk Constabulary said: “Police received a report of criminal damage on January 5 following the victim’s fence being cut on Town Lane, Garvestone.

“All lines of enquiry have been exhausted and the case has been closed.

“Of course, we would always review any new information provided to us.”