Family’s horror as “micro pig” balloons to 22 stone beast who eats furniture

Chops the "mirco pig" is now 22 stone, aged 5 Photo: SWNS

Julia Marsh, 56, is at the end of her tether after pet Chops, who was never meant to grow bigger than a small dog, ballooned to a whopping 22 stone.

Chops is now forced to live in the garden, because he keeps getting into kitchen cupboards and eating everything in sight - including guzzling a gallon of cooking oil.

Julia now shares her five-bedroom house in nearby Wingfield with fatso Chops, and her four children John, 23, William, 22, Maggie, 20, and Jacob, 17.

The writer said: “When I say I live with a pig, people think I’m on about my other half because I say he sits around drinking beer and eating all day – but I’m actually talking about my pet pig.

“But I’m actually single and I imagine I’ll stay that way, not many men could handle Chops, he likes to be the man in the house and is very protective of me.

“My kids nagged me to have him, and the breeder assured me he was a genuine micro pig who wouldn’t grow bigger than a dog.

“He always seemed a bit bigger than your average tea cup pig, but when he got to 22 stone I was shell shocked.”

Julia Marsh with Chops the "mirco pig" Photo: SWNS

The 22 stone beast started destroying furniture and gobbling down everything in sight including washing up liquid, leftovers and everything in the kitchen bin.

On top of this, he munched his way through two two-seater sofas and ripped the wallpaper off the wall. Then when Julia’s kids left for university she had to pick up the pieces.

She said: “There are not many things Chops would turn his nose up at and his favourite delicacies are J cloths, cans of beer and whole packets of painkillers.

“Chops was just sitting there in the middle of the room, bathing in oil from the deep fat fryer.

Beware of the pig: Chops used to live in the house but has been banished to the garden. Photo: SWNS

“I couldn’t bear to get rid of him because he’s such a lovely animal, so I had no choice but to exile him from the house.”

He soon found his head on the chopping block after charging snout-first through the neighbour’s fence.

Julia was forced to save his bacon again and had to splash out on a brand new fence to keep him in.

She added: “Everyone thinks I’m bonkers for keeping him and all my friends tease me about my micro pig, but I don’t care, he’s part of the family.”