IT’S not every day you see pigs racing through the streets of Bishopstone.

Hundreds of revellers crowded outside Helen Browning’s Royal Oak to watch the pigs’ pursuit along Cues Lane.

The area was buzzing with activity as guests queued up to put bets on who the prize porker would be and cheered on the speedy swine.

Eight people had chosen to name and sponsor one of the participating pigs for £40 each a few months earlier.

Bishopstone resident Tom Sergeant sponsored Princess Meg-ham, the winner of the second race.

He said: “I’m incredibly proud and absolutely thrilled, it feels great to be a winner.

“It’s the biggest event in her calendar, we took the opportunity to sponsor her months ago.

“There’s no trick to winning a race, I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

“The way it works is the pigs are well-looked after by Clive, who makes sure they’re cool and watered.

“Then when it’s time to come through the street, they’re given a bit of food from a bucket to encourage them to come out of their pen and along the track.

"They're given more food when they reach the end.

“There’s a handler there to make sure they don’t turn around and go the wrong way, but we don’t push or hurry them.

“By the third race, they’re going quite fast because they’ve learned that there’s more food waiting for them at the end.

“I live just round the corner and also came to last year’s race.

“It’s a great tradition and it was all started by our rather eccentric landlord.”

While many onlookers watched the races in front of the pub, others sat in the sunshine with a drink in the Royal Oak’s beer garden, listened to live rock music, and gorged on some sizzling sausages.

Landlord Tim Browning provided commentary over the loudspeaker and announced the winners of each of the races.

Tim’s own pet pigs, His and Hers, joined the third and final race of the day.

He said: “We have around 600 people here today and a lot of them have told me they’re having a great time.

“People are amazed that the council allow us to close the road off for this.

“We’re only allowed to do it once a year.

"It's great because, as they say, you leave them wanting more, then people really look forward to the next time.

“We love doing village things and attracting people to our business.

“It’s the perfect weather for it, the first Sunday of June always seems to be a good day, weather-wise.“

Tim estimated that £2,500 had been spent on bets.

Around £1,700 of this had been given to the winners of each race and £800 of the proceeds went towards the Swindon and North Wiltshire Deaf Children’s Society.

He also estimated that around 750 pints of beer, 20 bottles of gin and 25 bottles of Pimm’s had been sold.

Andrew and Nikki Radcliffe came from Faringdon to join the fun.

Andrew said: “It’s been very good, it’s something different, with nice food and a nice atmosphere.

“We went to one of these a few years ago and it was quite quiet, now it’s really busy.

“It’s been really enjoyable, though the pig we bet on only came second – so close!”

The Swindon and North Wiltshire Deaf Children's Society is a small group of volunteer parents.

They aim to further the education and relief of deaf children.

The charity hosts regular group meetings and fundraising activities, as it relies on donations to pay for the support it gives to deaf children.

It also organises fun days out for deaf youngsters, like trips to the theatre, theme parks, and go-karting.