AMY Swinehouse will take on Beatrix Trotter and six other pot-bellied porkers this Sunday in a race to be crowned Bishopstone’s fastest pig.

The International Pig Race returns to the Wiltshire village for its eighth year. The quirky event, run in a lane in front of Helen Browning’s Royal Oak pub, attracts tourists from across the county – and even further afield.

Tim Finney, organiser of the event every year and landlord at the Royal Oak, said: “It’s an afternoon of English silliness and raising money for charities.”

Cash raised from the four races will go to Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Swindon and North Wiltshire Deaf Children’s Society.

Cues Lane outside the pub will be lined with straw bales, marking out the 100m or so long racecourse. Last year an estimated 600 people turned out for the event.

For those thinking of making the short trip from Swindon to Bishopstone on Sunday, Tim had this to say: “They can expect to see eight happily ill-trained pigs trot, follow, turn round and stop for a pee between the telephone box in Cues Lane and the finish line.”

The off-beat event began eight years ago to mark the Queen’s jubilee – and it never stopped.

Each of the eight pigs is sponsored, with sponsors able to name their porkers. The names range from the sedate, like Richard or Pork, to the more contemporary Swine of Duty. The pigs come from Helen Browning and Tim Finney’s Eastbrook Farm, in Bishopstone.

An off-beat form guide has Carlinger the Fifth down as the favourite. It claims the pig-and-grey pig is fed on an “incessant” diet of Carling: “On its fourth attempt to win silverware and lost pride, our spies suggest a very promising day out.”

Last year, Bishopstone resident Tom Sergeant sponsored pig Princess Megham, which romped home in the second race of the day. He told the Adver: “I’m incredibly proud and absolutely thrilled, it feels great to be a winner.

“It’s the biggest event in her calendar, we took the opportunity to sponsor her months ago.

“There’s no trick to winning a race, I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

“The way it works is the pigs are well-looked after by Clive, who makes sure they’re cool and watered.

“Then when it’s time to come through the street, they’re given a bit of food from a bucket to encourage them to come out of their pen and along the track.

"They're given more food when they reach the end.

“There’s a handler there to make sure they don’t turn around and go the wrong way, but we don’t push or hurry them.

“By the third race, they’re going quite fast because they’ve learned that there’s more food waiting for them at the end.

“I live just round the corner and also came to last year’s race.

“It’s a great tradition and it was all started by our rather eccentric landlord.”

Helen Browning’s Royal Oak 8th International Pig Racing is held at Cues Lane, Bishopstone, on Sunday, June 9. The first race at 2pm, with live music in the pub’s garden from 4pm.