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She 'earned her freedom now': Pregnant pig escapes farm, gives birth to piglets in the woods

A woman was walking her dog through the woods when she noticed something odd – a pig and 10 piglets.

Anna Aston told BBC she was confused when saw the pig family on Monday in Ollerton, England, because they weren't wild boar.

"I was thinking, 'This isn't right.' You just don't get them in a wood," Aston told BBC.

Aston contacted the Brinsley Animal Rescue to find the pig, which they named Matilda and give her piglets a new home.

They found Matilda a prospective home at the Midlands animal sanctuary but were trying to reach the farm where she came from for permission.

"Wherever she has come from, she deserves a safe and happy life with her little family," Aston said. "I think she has earned her freedom now."

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Jon Beresford of the Midlands animal sanctuary said he believes Matilda ran away to protect her piglets.

"It's almost like her maternal instincts are like 'I want to get out of here and have my babies,' and she has broken out," Beresford told BBC.

Beresford named the pig family the "Ollerton 11" after the Tamworth Two – a tale of two pigs who escaped being slaughtered and went on the run in 1998.

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pregnant pig escapes farm, gives birth to piglets in England woods