A PORKY piece of sculpture flying the flag for British meat has been picked up by designers for a regional advertising campaign.

Pig farmer Mr Philip Sanderson built the giant animals to do his bit for promoting British pork.

A passing worker from Design Yorkshire was so impressed that the porcine duo are to be the face of 15,000 postcards and posters for a promotional campaign.

Mr Sanderson, aged 24, works the 200-acre Broom Close farm near Ainderby Steeple, Northallerton, with his elder brother Howard and his parents, Mr Gordon Sanderson and his wife Joan. The family have 500 sows and some arable land.

"It was meant as a bit of advertising," he said. "We are in dire need of a boost with pig prices as they are. I wanted to try to do my bit - every little helps."

He designed and built the sculpture with his girlfriend, Miss Emma Raybould, aged 21, of Northallerton. "It took us hours to make the first and only about ten minutes to finish the second one," she said.

The couple hit upon the idea after going on a day trip. "We had been thinking about doing something for ages, then we saw a similar straw sculpture on the way to Penrith, which was advertising something to do with ostriches!" said Miss Raybould.

The pigs, made of straw with buckets for noses and plant pot saucers as eyes, are a big hit with passing motorists. "It is now quite a popular spot," said Mr Sanderson. "A lot of people stop to take pictures."

Design Yorkshire chose the sculpture for its campaign to illustrate the impact good design can have. It was picked from several other unusual signs created by farmers to highlight the problems they are facing in the current meat industry crisis.

Chairman of the company's project team, Mr Gareth Barber, said: "Some of these signs are brilliant examples of effective use of design. They are colourful, witty, memorable and get the message across that our farmers are in trouble. "