Police are warning drivers to stay on the alert for wild boars as rampaging hogs bring a fresh peril to British roads, fighting each other on the streets in ‘gruesome’ battles
A bizarre police alert was issued after will boars were spotted walking into traffic and fighting in the street, with at least two raising hell.
Eyewitnesses on Stoner Hill Road at Petersfield in Hampshire, said the duo ignore cars and cause traffic jams. Fiona Holroyde, who lives nearby, said she had seen them at least four times in three days.
She saw a “really stocky” boar wrestling a “very scrawny” one in a “gruesome” street fight which brought traffic to a halt. “They were both at the side making a mess of the mud and then the larger one went for the smaller one and knocked it over on the road,” she said.
“That went on for a couple of minutes and then some people got out of a car and tried to shoo it off. It’s a wonder there hasn’t been an accident.”
Fiona said the first time she saw one of the boars she was “surprised”. But now they were making regular appearances.
“Some of the cars coming towards me were flashing so I was going relatively slowly, and as I came round a very steep left hand bend I literally came face-to-face with the larger of the two,” she said. “He just stood there and I put my brakes on and then he decided he’d walk to the side and went past me.”
Fiona described the creature as “absolutely beautiful – an amazing animal to look at”. But she said it was “not what you’re expecting when you’re in a bit of a rush to pick up your child from school“.
She now wants the animals captured and relocated to safety. “It would be awful if something happened to them, but likewise they really could cause quite an accident and it’s not an easy road anyway,” she said.
“We just all really hope there isn’t a sad ending.”
East Hampshire Police said on Facebook the force was “aware that a wild boar has been sighted on Stoner Hill Road”. Officers urged motorists to “please bear it in mind”.
“If you are driving around this area please be mindful of this and drive carefully and at an appropriate speed,” they said.
Boars were recently named among invasive species that have caused £1 trillion damage in the UK.
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