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A litter of piglets that were rescued from a barn fire have been served up to the firefighters who saved them as sausages.

Two sows and 18 piglets survived the blaze after flames ripped through 60 tonnes of hay at a Wiltshire farm in February.

Farmer Rachel Rivers delivered the meaty thank you gifts to Pewsey fire crews on Monday.

She defended the controversial move and told the BBC: “I'm sure vegetarians will hate this."

Ms Rivers added: “I wanted to thank them. I promised them at the time I'd bring down some sausages for them, which they were all pleased about.

"We farm and this is what we do. You can't keep them as pets."

Firefighters shared snaps of themselves barbecuing the “fantastic” bangers on Pewsey Fire Station’s Facebook page.

A post read: “Exactly six months and one day since (we) rescued 18 piglets from a farm in Milton we got to sample the fruits of our labour from that February night.

“Highly recommended by Pewsey Fire Station’s crew (…), they are fantastic.”