Del Boy Trotter became a bit of a porker after dining in style on Marks & Spencer takeaway meals.

The portly pig tips the scales at more than 25st and needs a new home because he has outgrown his old one.

Del Boy - named after David Jason's wheeler-dealer character in the hit TV comedy Only Fools and Horses - measures 6ft from snout to tail.

Now the big British White boar is looking for a new sty with en suite mud pool and scraps on tap after outgrowing the stable in East Preston, near Worthing, where he is currently housed.

As a piglet, Del Boy's future looked bleak. But he was rescued from the dinner plate by a couple who fed him top-of-the-range Marks & Spencer food, not realising how big he would become.

Soon he had eaten them out of house and home and they could no longer keep him.

But his bacon was saved by the Worthing and District Animal Rescue Service (Wadars), who have been paying for his keep.

Billy Elliott, rescue officer for the charity, said: "He's very happy and healthy where he's living but he could really do with being outside somewhere with a sty."

Four-and-a-half-year-old Del Boy shares the stable with several ponies. Happily, he's said to be very friendly.

Mr Elliott said: "He especially likes women and loves to be tickled. He will roll over onto his back.

"And he can predict the weather. He will move his bedding around in the stable, depending on what the weather is going to be."

Del Boy is partly looked after by Kelly Roberts, who said: "He came to us for four weeks before one Christmas and four years on he's still here.

"He does need a new home though. He needs a better quality of life with a sty. We can't build a sty here because we rent the land. I will miss him terribly though."

She added: "He really needs someone who knows about pigs. He is gentle, but he is an animal and could be a handful because of his size."

She added: "We called him Del Boy because he's a trotter and just like Del Boy. He's laid back and can be a bit of a plonker at times."

Foot-and-mouth restrictions are still in place in Sussex, so it may prove difficult to move Del Boy into a new home quickly, but Mr Elliott is hopeful a licence could be obtained giving the organisation permission to move him.

Anyone interested in offering Del Boy a new home should call 01903 217788.