A 'WILD boar' which was reported loose in North Yorkshire today, has been captured.

But the animal was in fact a female pig, which had likely escaped from a nearby farm, and not a wild animal.

North Yorkshire Police said they were alerted to a wild boar loose on the A171 at Cloughton, near Scarborough, at 8.20am. An officer was sent to the scene and managed to get the boar off the road and into a car park, before a vet was called to the scene and the animal was transported to the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary.

Alex Farmer, from the sanctuary, said while the vet and police were acting with the best intention, they had made a mistake on this occasion.

She said: "It's more like a pot-bellied pig with tusks than a wild boar.  "The vet called us and said there's a wild boar on the way, but it's definitely a pig. She's the wrong colour and shape and has the wrong temperament to be a wild boar. I think it's likely missing from a farm."

Alex said the pig was extremely docile, and recognised the pig food it was offered, suggesting it was a domestic rather than a wild animal.

She said: "We're putting her up as a found animal and if no-one claims her after a week, we will care for her here.  "None have been reported missing so far, and we've called a lot of pig farmers. We've scanned her for a chip but there isn't one, and she hasn't got a tag in her ear either."