THEY’RE affectionate, don’t need walking and won’t turn your house into a pig sty...

Meet Bobby and Henry, the diminutive, and domesticated, duo who enjoy clean living in the Hurdsfield home of Mike Twigg and his family.

Both are 15 week old miniature pigs and will grow to no taller than 2ft. Bobby, who is black, and Henry, spotted, have the trot of the house during the day and live off greens like cabbage and specially formulated pot-bellied pet food.

As a treat they eat grapes and pears and worms from the ground.

Mike, 45, a security guard for Imperial Leather, of Balmoral Crescent, said: "We got them for £50 each on the internet from a farm in Lincolnshire. We’ve had them five weeks. They were no bigger than my shoe when they arrived.

"They make great pets. Miniature pigs have been in the news a bit recently as luxury pets costing £600 or £700, so we got a bargain. And you have to have a licence to keep them."

As well as Mike’s partner Heather, 44, and their two children Beth, 11, and Marcus, 12, they share the house with three cats.

"They are much easier to keep than dogs. You don’t have to walk them, they have got their own pen in the garden. They are easy to toilet train and you can teach them tricks.  And they love having belly rubs, it’s like they go into a trance. A lot of people ask if we are going to eat them but they are definitely just pets! I still eat bacon but the others don’t."

Celebrity mini pig owners such as Harry Potter’s Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) have helped propel them into the limelight in recent months.

Pigs are said to be the fourth most intelligent animals in the world after humans, primates and dolphins.