He must be in the running for the title Britain's most spoiled pet.

Herman the pampered porker lives the life of Riley at his Hampshire home with owner Jo Hutchison and the rest of her family looking after his every whim.

The eight-month-old half Vietnamese, half Chinese Ming cross breed typically starts the day with a cup of tea (with no sugar), a bowl of corn flakes, perhaps some cream crackers (but only the most expensive), maybe a carrot or two, or even some sow nuts.

If the weather is nice he might then take a stroll outside to the back garden of Jo's Bursledon family home where he likes nothing better than a spot of sunbathing.

But heaven forbid he should get sunburn. Jo has that covered by smothering him in protective cream.

If sunbathing doesn't tickle his fancy he can then take a dip in his own paddling pool, enjoy his favourite game of football, or demand walkies from Jo.

On rainy afternoons he prefers to read the paper indoors or watch MTV on satellite TV, and at the end of the day, when it all becomes too much for the tired little piggy, he has his very own sofa bed (complete with pillow and blanket) in the front room to sleep off all his exertions.

And to help him off to sleep he always has a final rub-down with baby oil before he goes to bed. Single Jo, 29, said: "I've only had Herman since December but I've always loved pigs.

"I've got hundreds of pig ornaments, pig pictures, pig postcards and pig toys. Now I've got my very own real life one." She said the idea of getting a pig became a reality when fellow pig lover Anita Back moved in next door.

"It was fate. She already had a pot-bellied pig called Hamlet and she told me about this pig sanctuary near Heathrow. In fact she picked up Herman for me as a kind of Christmas present."

And when Jo reluctantly leaves Herman behind to work for Daily Echo publisher Newscom at its Redbridge head office as a senior receptionist, Anita looks after both pigs together.

"I have pictures of him at work. He's always the topic of conversation in the mornings. He's very affectionate and loving, and very talkative too. He's like a dog really, only much more clever.

"He's my baby boy. I suppose you could say I'm in pig heaven."

Daily Echo pets page in The Magazine every Saturday.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.