RARE breed enthusiast Paul Fisher is looking for a new home for his 300 pigs.

His Gloucestershire old spots, British lops and Berkshires have been living temporarily on land at Easby, near Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Now he is looking for a minimum of five acres of land to rent or buy for his outdoor enterprise.

The former pig consultant travelled the country until the foot-and-mouth crisis prevented him from visiting farms.

He decided to settle down in Richmond and had bought a few pigs of his own when people started asking where they could buy "pork that tasted like it used to".

And that is when he decided to build up his herd of pigs, which are all classed as vulnerable or endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

"I started off with two in-pig British lop sows from a rare breed sale in York, in October 2002," said Mr Fisher, "Then someone offered me nine in-pig Gloucestershire Old Spots and it went from there."

The pigs are kept outdoors in large paddocks with straw bedded arks for shelter.

The combination of traditional pure breeds, the outdoor life, and a natural diet with no hormones or anti-biotics, produces a succulent and tender pork full of flavour.

He and his brother, Derek, who is London-based, market the meat as Swaledale Pork.

They initially sold to local butchers and restaurants, but now all the meat is sold through London's Smithfield market to some of the top restaurants in the capital.

"Ideally, we would like to rent or buy five to ten acres of land suitable for outdoor pigs and would be keen to hear from anyone who might be able to help," said Mr Fisher, who can be contacted on (07734) 915183.