WILD boar have been spotted in parts of Oxfordshire.


Warning signs have been put up to alert dog walkers about what they should do if they see any.  


A woman raised the alarm after she said she came face-to-face with one on an early-morning walk near the village of North Leigh.


Oxfordshire County Council has now put up notices in the area warning walkers that the animals are potentially dangerous when raising their young from February to May.


Dog walkers, especially, have been asked to keep their pets on leads and leave the area if they spot a boar.


David and Doris Burton of Witney, who took their dog Elsa for a walk in North Leigh yesterday, said they had heard the rumours but would brave the woods anyway. 


Mrs Burton said: “It is a little bit worrying, but he’s got his walking stick just in case.”


County countryside officer Paul Harris put up the signs and said the woman was lucky to have spotted one of the secretive animals.


He said: “She was out quite early in the morning, about day break. It stopped and took a look then it backed away and so did she.


“She got quite close and they are fairly obvious. You don’t mistake them for a muntjac deer or a pig and it didn’t go anywhere.”


There is currently an estimated population of about 1,000 wild boar in the UK mostly in Kent and Sussex with smaller populations in west Dorset and Herefordshire. 


Adult males can weight more than 150kg, run at up to 30mph and jump. Females can have litters of up to 10 at a time. The nearest certified population to Oxfordshire is in the Forest of Dean about 60 miles away.


But in January a man was killed on the M4 near Swindon in an accident reportedly involving a wild boar.


Mr Harris said: “In the Forest of Dean where there are far more there have been incidents with dogs being attacked. But there is normally a reason behind it because they are nocturnal and quite secretive.


“They are a wild animal and they have got little tusks on them so we need to exercise a bit of caution.


“It’s just about treating them with respect and giving them a wide berth.”
After getting the call at the end of February, Mr Harris went to the woodland path near North Leigh and said he thought he spotted an animal himself.


But more definitely he found mounds of earth indicating boar could have been rooting around in the soil, as they are known to do.


He said: “I don’t know if they’ve come from domestic stocks and escaped or been kept as pets.”
He said there had been no follow-up calls and added: “I think the lady was extremely lucky to have had the privilege of seeing a wild animal.


“That is a wonderful, life-affirming thing. I wish I had seen it.”

If you’ve spotted any wild boar, call Pete Hughes on 01865 425431