The sow, boar and two piglets dug up ground near graves at St Gerard’s Church in Thrybergh, and were roaming the streets for a week before their capture on December 2.

Father Desmond Sexton, from the church, told the BBC at the time that the pigs had caused ‘havoc’, and that people visiting graves had been left “very upset”.

During the last full Rotherham Council meeting on March 1, Cllr Michael Bennett-Sylvester asked what the cost was to the council, following the pigs’ escape, and asked if the council had ‘any hope of recovering such costs’.

Councillor Dominic Beck, cabinet member for transport and environment: “I think it is the most bizzare email I’ve ever recieved, which simply said ‘pigs loose in Thrybergh’. But it’s a serious question.

“We did incur some small costs in relation to the fencing that was used to contain the pigs, and obviously there was the officer time.

“We estimate, in total, was between £1,500 and £2,500.

“The officers have said that it is often challenging to try and recover costs in relation to events like this, but they will endevour to do so if there’s an oppertunity.”

Cllr Michael Bennett-Sylvester added that the situation was “an example of an overstretched service coming against antiquated legislation, in something that really was a community concern, especially in realtion to damage on the graveyard.”

Pigs on the loose who roamed Yorkshire village for a week left residents 'upset' after digging up churchyard