Last Saturday I was driving up the Morse Road from Nailbridge towards Ruardean. It was around 9.30 am and, just as I went around the slight bend above Pritchard's coal yard, a rather large wild boar suddenly cleared the wall on the left side of the road.

Cars stopped in both directions mercifully and the somewhat agitated and disoriented animal dashed across the road in front of me, encountered a bank and hedge on that side, so turned, ran back across the road and cleared the wall again without touching the top of it.

The boar's ability to jump was amazing. In fact I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes.

There is a very steep bank in the field next to the wall and how the animal ran up it to clear the wall is as big a feat as not breaking its legs jumping back the other way.

My last view of it was clearing fences and heading down across the fields in the Drybrook direction. I wonder if this olympiggian got into further difficulties down there or made it back into the woodland areas?

– Danny Haines, Ruardean Woodside.