A GRUMPY Vietnamese pot-bellied pig has finally been married off after four years alone.

But Victor, named after famous TV grump Victor Meldrew, doesn't seem to like his new mate.

So far the five-year-old, who weighs between nine and 11 stones, has not shown much interest in his half-weight mate Hortense and instead has been keener on the horses at the riding stable which is now his home.

Victor lived at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, Edenfield, after his owners bought him as a cute piglet and watched their pet grow.

Manager at the sanctuary Turn Village Neil Martin said: "A lot of people buy these pigs when they are young and don't realise how big they are going to grow. Victor is crossed with a normal pig and he weighs too much.

"He is going to go on a diet. At the sanctuary he had his own sty and it was very comfy. He didn't want to leave it unless visitors were offering him food.

"When he did come out he would grumble and be a grumpy so and so but we all loved him!"

Victor has now moved to Ryder's Farm riding stables, Kearsley, near Bolton, where he has been matched with Hortense, a pure bred Vietnamese pot-bellied pig. Neil said: "They are both about five years old and could live for another five, so it is a bit of a Darby and Joan match.

"We are hoping he is going to be better behaved now and he has got a large field with Hortense and they have their own sties. I have known Philip Reading, the owner of the stables, for several years and he called into the sanctuary to get a cat but went away with cat and a huge pig!" Victor loves apples and vegetables, but would turn his snout up at other pigs -- Neil is just hoping he will settle down with his new partner. Manager at the stables Sarah Fitton said: "He has done nothing but sleep since he got here!

"We made him a bed in the field but he prefers to sleep in the middle of the sand in the riding arena while Hortense is in the garden. He doesn't seem to like her much at all and prefers to be round people, but even if they don't get on we will still be keeping him.

"He is lovely and very friendly while Hortense is very snooty. I think he likes it here because there is lots of mud and we have already had to shoo him away from trying to steal the horses feed!"