Boy, five, saved from pig attack

A boy had to be saved by his uncle after a pig went berserk and attacked him, biting him all over his body.

Adrian Smith, 42, had his clothes ripped off and was also badly bitten by the sow as he came to the rescue of his five-year-old nephew Harrison Sinclair.

It appears the boy screeched while he was in the pen at the farm at Ryde, Isle of Wight, and the pig thought its piglets were in danger and attacked.

When Mr Smith jumped in to save the boy, the pig turned her anger on him.

She even bit my calf as I was scrambling away over the fence. My clothes were ripped to shreds. Adrian Smith

Family friend Neil Robinson, who owns the private farm at Ryde, eventually managed to free Harrison.

Although Mr Smith and his nephew were badly shaken by the attack neither was badly injured.

Mr Smith from the island, said: "Harrison went into the pen and there was nothing untoward going on when all of a sudden he made a screeching sound when the pig went near him.

"He has got a very high-pitched screech and the pig must have thought he had hurt one of the piglets. In a flash she started biting him. She was really agitated.

"I hit her on the head to try to distract her but she ended up on top of me. It was very frightening and such a shock. She even bit my calf as I was scrambling away over the fence. My clothes were ripped to shreds.

"It was completely out of character for the pig and none of the family blames it. She just thought she was protecting her babies, I suppose.

"We all went back to the farm the following day to sort things out in our minds.

"Harrison would have been mincemeat and people are telling me my actions saved him."