Meet the creators of the brilliant little Hartlepool piggy which went down a storm by staying at home

It’s less than a fortnight since the Hartlepool Mail featured a story related to the coronavirus which had the town intrigued.

A little piggy created out of a hay bale appeared at the side of a road at Greatham.

It carried the message ‘this little piggy stayed at home’ to encourage people to stay safe during the pandemic and also paid tribute to the frontline NHS heroes.

Isla Flounders who helped with the painting of the hay bale pig.

Mail readers loved the hay bale pig and now we have found out who the inspiration was behind it.

It was a family effort and Beverley Hutchinson, from Field House Farm in Greatham, was one of the family who created it.

“My sister Jade Flounders who runs the Pink Ponies & Ponytail Ranch based here at Field House Farm came up with the idea,” said Beverley.

A combination of buckets, lids and spray paint soon followed and so did the bales.

“My other sister Bethan Hutchinson who owns Bethanfield Hereford’s had to carry them down and pop them in place.”

Beverley’s seven-year-old niece Isla Flounders also played a part by having her picture taken beside the new ‘artwork’.

But the light-hearted creation carried a serious message and Beverley explained: “It became important as we have friends, colleagues and customers who are either frontline NHS workers or key workers like ourselves and just to say thank you.”

But the hay bale pig soon became a local celebrity and Beverley added: “Our farm lane runs between Greatham and Billingham and it quickly became quite noticeable the high volume of people using the lane to exercise, walk the dog, cycle etc.

“The response has been amazing from lots of people.”

The story has another serious aspect to it as the notice board beside the pig also carries the message for people to support their local farmers.

Beverley added: “I feel quite strongly about local businesses such as the butcher, the general dealer, the grocer.

“It’s a way also to encourage people to shop local, source local and buy local, especially Whitfields our local village shop in Greatham.

“They have been tremendous during the outbreak in keeping the shop open and helping everyone with their needs.”

:: Do you know of a special tribute to the heroes of the lockdown which deserves to be in the spotlight? Tell us more by emailing [email protected] or visiting the Hartlepool Mail Facebook page.

New figures from NHS England published on April 20 show there have been 51 deaths in the North Tees and Hartlepool trust area.

A further 18 people have died across the North East’s seven hospital trusts.

In total, 740 people who had tested positive for coronavirus have died across the North East’s hospital trusts.

And to find out the latest coronavirus updates and case numbers, visit the Hartlepool Mail website.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.