A POPULAR alpaca attraction is branching out, by welcoming an adorable group of micro pigs who are a hit with visitors.

Marley, Bart, Lisa and Georgie are the latest additions to Stanton's Farm Alpacas in Witham Road, Black Notley.

Farm manager Jessica Roots, 24, adopted the porcine pets as a way to extend the farm's offer and contacted Buckinghamshire ethical micro pig breeder Kew Little Pigs who fixed the farm up with the two year-old gang.

Jessica, from Braintree, said: "When you go into the pen they actually roll over and you can give them belly rubs and they like being stroked to sleep

"I don't think they have a bad bone in their body, they are gentle with children and us too, which is amazing for our farm.

"We wanted to add some pigs to the farm because we wanted to extend our offer.

"I've always liked pigs and have always wanted to get micro pigs, and then we saw Kew Little Pigs and the guys we have adopted and knew that we had to have them at the farm."

Stanton's Farm Alpacas has been open since November 2021 and provides a range of experiences for adults and children.

To include micro pigs at the farm Kew Little Pigs required Stanton's Farm to undergo a pig-keeping course, which explains how to keep the cute creatures healthy and happy.

Jessica added: "I would recommend pig keeping as it is really rewarding, a lot of people just think of pigs as something to eat, but they have so much more to offer than that.

"They are low maintenance and don't need a lot of interaction, you just have to make sure they have a wallow, a nice clean bed, some water and some food and they are as happy as Larry that way.

"Friends and family are shocked to hear that we have micro pigs and visitors absolutely love them.

"My mum especially absolutely adores them and has even stopped eating meat as a result.”

Owner of Kew Little Pigs Olivia Mikhail said: "We are so happy that Stanton's Farm is providing a good home for Marley, Bart, Lisa and Georgie and know that they will be very happy there.

"The pigs have grown up at our farm attraction, so absolutely love to meet people, so this is the perfect place for them to live.”

To find out more about Kew Little Pigs go to kewlittlepigs.com.

To find out more about Stanton's Farm Alpacas go to stantonsfarmalpacas.co.uk.