FIRE crews were on hand to save the bacon when a partly eaten pedometer caused a fire in some pig pens.

The crews from Tadcaster and Knaresborough turned out to four pig pens at Bramham, near Leeds, on Saturday.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue explained in a tweet that the cause of the fire was "attributed to a battery-powered pedometer carried by one of the pigs (to prove it was free-range), which was eaten by the other pigs".

The remains of the pedometer ended up in the pen and it was believed the copper form the batteries reacted with the pen's contents to start a blaze and burn about 75 square metres of hay.

But none of the pigs was harmed and the tweet concluded: "A hose reel was used to extinguish the fire and save the bacon."

* Pictures: North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue