Swinestoppers

[Emeritus]

After reading this story today I felt I had to share it with somebody. It is a joke, except that for the man who got arrested it is the stark reality.

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Swinestoppers

Potty ... 'offensive' porcelain pig that got dad arrested

By ANDY CRICK

Published: Today

A DAD was hauled out of bed and arrested for having an ornamental PIG in his garden — after his policeman neighbour claimed it was put there to poke fun at him.

Nicked ... ex-pig farmer Robin

Shocked Robin Demczak, 57, was dragged off to cells and held for more than 6½ hours as the constable’s colleagues grilled him about the porcelain porker.

He was finally freed without charge after explaining the black pig with white spots had been there for eight years — while the officer had only lived next door for FOUR.

Hogs

Fuming window fitter Robin — who used to have a PIGGERY in his back garden — slammed the swoop yesterday.

The pig issue ... sign Robin put up after getting rid of hogs

He said: “I was in bed and I could hear police cars outside.

“I was thinking, ‘What’s going on?’ Then I was dragged out by police, arrested and chucked in the back of a police car.

“I was held by them for almost seven hours because having the stone pig apparently counted as harassment.” Neighbour PC John Ablett called in his colleagues

following a simmering 18-month feud over a footpath that splits his back garden from Robin’s in Witney, Oxfordshire.

The traffic cop insists the former pig farmer has no right to use it.

Robin said: “PC Ablett had me arrested because he didn’t like me keeping my 12-inch porcelain model pig in the back garden.

“He seems to think it is offensive to policemen.”

The dad, who got rid of his hogs years ago and now uses the sty as a shed, told how his neighbour also failed to see the funny side over a sign he painted saying: “No pigs”. He denied it was a dig at the cop.

Robin explained: “When I got rid of all the pigs, I painted a sign saying there weren’t any left in there. That was in case someone was worried about them.”

Feud ... PC neighbour John Ablett

Although he was freed without charge, Robin was ordered to REMOVE the ornamental pig from the garden of his £200,000 home.

He was also told to STOP calling his outbuilding a sty.

Investigation

Robin said: “The reason I call it that is because it used to be a piggery — it has still got troughs and slurry dips in the floor.”

Yesterday Thames Valley police confirmed officers were still looking into the complaint made against him.

A force spokesman said: “We can confirm that a man was arrested on suspicion of harassment in relation to the incident.

“He has been released without charge. But the investigation is still ongoing.

“There was an ornament in the garden and also some writing on a wall.” PC Ablett was last night unavailable for comment.

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Source: www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2375177.ece