A FARMER whose piglets were saved from a barn fire has served them up as sausages to the firemen who rescued them.

Rachel Rivers has already accepted that the feast might cause backlash among vegetarians, but she wanted to keep her promise to treat the fire crews who saved her livestock's bacon.

The 18 two week old piglets and two sows were rescued from a barn fire at Lawn Farm in Milton Lilbourne in February which saw 60 tonnes of hay go up in smoke.

Crews from Pewsey and Marlborough put out the fire at the organic farm and at the time Mrs Rivers promised to share some sizzling sausages once the piglets had been fully reared.

She said: "I'm sure vegetarians will hate this.

"I wanted to thank them. I promised them at the time I'd bring down some sausages for them, which they were all pleased about.

"We farm and this is what we do. You can't keep them as pets."

The animals were reared for six months before being slaughtered and turned into sausages, which promptly made their way onto the firefighter’s barbecue.

A spokesman for Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Our thanks to the farmer for her generosity. We can tell no porkies, the sausages were fantastic."

Crews from Marlborough, Pewsey, Ramsbury and Swindon attended another fire involving livestock last week, this time at Wernham Farm in Marlborough.

The blaze engulfed a chick house and two caravans last Friday during the early hours of the morning.

Gas cylinders were also discovered at the area on fire which took until 6am to extinguish.

It was not known how many chicks were involved in the fire and a man assisting the clean-up process on the morning after the fire, said: “The owners have been here since 2.30am sorting things out and are still continuing to work there.”

Wernham Farm and Campsite provides sites for up to five caravans and also offers visitors a number of holistic services.

Maggie’s Sanctuary operates from the site and offers spiritual healing and message including animal healing at the picturesque site just outside of Marlborough town centre.