A LEGAL dispute involving a herd of pigs and a hot air balloon has finally been settled – thanks to the expertise of a professor of mathematics.

The problem arose two years ago when a herd of pigs on a farm at Sand Hutton, near York, were disturbed by a low-flying hot-air balloon as it fired its burners.

The terrified pigs, around 200 sows and eight boars all owned by Gilling East-based Ian Mosey (Livestock) Limited, then stampeded.

They all fled in the same direction, injuring each other as they went, and ended up in a ditch at the end of the field.

Four of the animals died, but most of the sows in the field were pregnant and around 70 per cent of them aborted because of the shock.

Farmer Dan Gilbank was at Low Moor Farm when the incident happened and said: “We saw the balloon and were heading towards the pigs when the burners went off to help it get over the trees. There was nothing we could do and the pigs just ran.”

He added: “We’ve had problems with balloons before and that’s why they are not supposed to come within 500 metres.”

One of the key points in the ensuing legal battle was the exact location of the balloon in relation to the animals.

The insurers for the company providing the balloon ride used GPS data generated during the flight to claim that the balloon didn’t come closer than 750 metres from the pigs, and so could not have caused the stampede.

But York lawyer Darren Morgan, of Langleys Solicitors, disputed that and obtained a picture of the balloon that had been taken by the wife of another farmer.

Professor Chris Fewster, of York University, was then able to use information gleaned from the picture to mathematically prove the balloon was only about 300 metres from the pigs.

That was much closer than the balloon company’s insurers claimed and following Prof Fewster’s report, and having made an initial offer of £10,000, they agreed a settlement of £38,782.

Professor Fewster said: “The wonderful thing about mathematics is that it helps us think clearly about the world.

“This case shows how even relatively simple mathematics like trigonometry can make an important contribution. I am delighted to have helped the parties arrive at a settlement.”

Mr Morgan said: “This was a particularly interesting case because the exact position of the hot air balloon in relation to the herd of pigs would have been almost impossible to prove without both the initial photographic evidence, and the subsequent calculations from Prof Fewster.”