FOR five years they have lived a life of luxury in a sponsored sty at the Woodchurch Rare Breeds Centre near Ashford.

But now the remarkable story of escape from the slaughterhouse to freedom of the pair of Tamworth pigs is set to be filmed and thrust them back into the national spotlight.

The tale of the fugitive pair that ran free in the Wiltshire countryside for a week triggering as massive media chase back in 1998 is being made into a £2 million BBC film.

The Legend of the Tamworth Two - quickly named Butch and Sundance - will be a 90-minute comedy drama that uses a mix of live action, animation and computer technology.

Lucy Davies, from The Office, will provide the voice of Sundance and Ryan Cartwright will play Butch. Frances Barber plays their mother with Brian Blessed providing the voice of a wild boar that encourages them to escape.

The drama is due for broadcast sometime next year. Following the style of Babe the Hollywood blockbuster about a pig and a forthcoming drama about lions featuring Kate Winslett and Sean Bean, staff at Canterbury Oast Trust are bracing themselves for an influx of visitors to view the famous pair.

The ginger-coloured giant Tamworths, Britain's oldest surviving native pig breed, had been cross-bed with wild boar to improve meat quality.

The pair will be played by eight different porkers in the production, which starts filming in two weeks.