A bunch of bananas was the key to saving two pigs - after they fell down a well.

Firefighters were called to Chalk Hill Farm in Thanington Without, near Canterbury, after the pair of Kune Kune pigs fell 10 feet down a well.

It’s thought the sisters, Bramley and Bramble, aged three, were playing near the pit when they fell in on Wednesday.

At the scene, firefighters from Faversham, who are specially trained in Animal Rescue, quickly pitched a ladder down the side of the well to reach the pigs.

Wearing dry suits, the firefighters then tried to place a harness around one of the pigs to winch her to safety.

But the pigs were too small for the harnesses, normally used to rescue larger livestock, and so the firefighters had to remove a septic tank from the well.

Crews then enticed the pigs into a net with their favourite food, bananas, and winched the sisters to safety.

Owner Julie Hardy, who uses the farm as a life skills centre for teenagers, said: “I saw Bramley and Bramble playing near the well when I saw them fall.

"As they are pets, we were all quite concerned for their safety, although they didn’t seem too bothered about being down the well!”

Station manager Simon Smith said: “It was quite a difficult rescue. The fire crew had little access to the pigs initially, so we had no other option but to winch the septic tank out of the well.

"Although this gave the crew more space to work in, they experienced quite a lot of difficulty convincing the pigs to enter the net.

"But eventually, with the help of the owners and some food, crews managed to hoist the pair to safety.”

After an hour of winching, heaving and a lot of noise from the pigs, the firefighters pulled the stricken animals to safety.

Amazingly the sisters were returned to their sty unhurt from their ordeal.

Simon added: “Julie was very thankful to our firefighters. We definitely saved her pigs' bacon!"

Piggy factfile

• Kune Kune (pronounced Cooney Cooney) pigs come from New Zealand

• They are prized by the Maoris for their ability to fatten on little more than a subsistence diet of grass and scraps

• The breed came close to extinction in the 1970s but 18 pigs were rescued and from this breeding stock there are now Kune Kune worldwide

• They were first introduced to the UK in 1992

• There are now several hundred Kune Kune in the UK

• Kune Kune are hairy pigs and come in a range of colours - brown, black, gold, ginger and various spotted combinations

• The breed has often been described as a ‘Walt Disney’ cartoon version of a pig

• They vary between 20” and 30” in height

• They have a wonderfully placid temperament and love human company.