MIGHT pigs fly? It certainly seemed like it when RSPCA staff were presented with this little specimen, who wasn't picked up on his way to market - but to Bournemouth International Airport.

The piglet - nicknamed Ryan after a certain airline - was discovered by a worried member of the public on Wednesday evening.

RSPCA Ashley Heath's animal collection officer Jo Blackburn said: "He was trotting along the road towards the airport for all the world as if he was off on holiday!

Unfortunately he didn't have a passport otherwise we'd have been able to identify him.

The man who found him took him to a nearby farm to see if they knew who he belonged to, but when they couldn't say, he took him to a vet and they contacted us."

The RSPCA say they have no idea where Ryan came from and so far, no one has tried to collect him.

Now he's being cared for by the Centre's deputy manager Gaynor Cannings.

"He's only small but he has a big personality," she says. "We think he's a cross between a Duroc and a Tamworth and has recently been weaned."

Because of his friendly nature, it's possible he was being kept as a pet.

However, Gaynor said: "Pigs are very sociable animals and need to be kept with their own.

"They need land to root in and other pigs for company and shouldn't be kept indoors."

She believes that despite spending as much time with Ryan as possible he's already starting to feel lonely.

"We'll keep him for a little while longer and if his proper owner doesn't come forward we have a new home in mind for him on a farm where there are plenty of other pigs."

  • If you know anything about Ryan contact Jo Blackburn on 0300 1234 999.