WILD boar are increasingly venturing into streets and gardens to rifle through uncollected bin bags as the icy snap makes rooting in the frozen ground more difficult.

Facing a choice of snouting through solidly frozen soil or ripping bin bags apart, two wild boar took the easy option in Buckshaft by rifling through uncollected rubbish bags in search of an easy meal.

Roxanne Blake, who took these photos, said two of the boar came through her gate and literally ripped up the bags. Her neighbour, Mrs Clarke of appropriately named, Woodland View, said: "I drew the curtains and I thought it was a great big dog at first, but they were two huge boar, like Shetland ponies, only bigger."

Both boar ran off when a Forestry Commission ranger arrived on the scene, giving the commission a chance to deny widespread reports that there's due to be some sort of official spring 'cull'.

"We're just continuing a policy of taking out troublesome animals if they get in conflict with people. There's no big cull planned," said a spokesman.

Another pair of boar did a tour of Bream, stopping outside John Vaughan's house in New Road. Not the only unusual visitors. "I had a peregrine falcon swoop in the garden and a heron on my frozen goldfish pond," he said.

Two male boar, possibly the same pair, overturned bins at the Tufts in Bream. Nick Guy caught them red trottered: "They rooted through a bin for food as children look on. As a small crowd gathered with cameras, the boar, relatively unperturbed trotted along The Tufts before disappearing into woodland."

And yet another pair of boar drew crowds to Parkend Cricket ground, not necessarily for their batting skills.

Meanwhile, with temperatures in the Forest dropping to arctic levels, Polar bears found the Wye Valley a cosy new abode. Artist Mariana Robinson, who created these snowy beasts said most of the folk on the hillside in Llandogo had been trapped in their homes since before Christmas and were reliant on Brown's stores being resupplied with food. The weather had also brought in some odd visitors.

"This great big shadow suddenly came over, and a buzzard landed on my bird table. Everything else flew off sharp."

What looks like a pint of beer is actually cold tea - polar bears are one thing, blotto polar bears quite another.

Wildlife photographer, Robin Ward has been out and about taking photos of wild birds – like this robin and blue tit.

His advice: "Try taking some bird seed and nuts out with you when you go walking. The feeling you get from helping wildlife in difficult conditions is amazing and if you have not felt this before, then I urge you to try it – it's one of the best feelings you can have."

Elsewhere, some very odd footprints appeared (twice) in Les Day's garden in Ninewells near Berry Hill.

"Very odd," said Mr Day. "Never seen anything like it before. It's a bit like a cloven hoof, eight inches long and in a dead straight line, as if whatever it was on one foot."

If anyone can identify these footprints, let us know.