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SOUTH EDITION
Your English Newspaper
26 AUG - 1 Sept 2011
Issue 619
Boar wars by Jack Troughton
Fire empties village RESIDENTS OF a Murcia village were forced to flee their homes when strong winds fanned the flames of a huge forest fire. Officers of the Guardia Civil went house to house knocking on doors in the village of Portman to alert people to the danger and some 1,400 were evacuated. It was estimated 420 hectares of parkland and mountainside were destroyed in the fire that raged across the area last week. The devastation was described as an “environmental tragedy”. Read the full story on page 5
GOLFERS had a lucky escape when a rampaging wild boar charged their buggy prompting a terrifying race for safety. The “huge” beast – spooked by the start of the hunting season - found its way onto the course at Javea Golf Club as friends were enjoying a round of their favourite sport. Restaurant owner Allan Langley-Smith managed to take a short piece of film of the boar before it actually turned to attack the golfers on the third tee. “It was not a very pleasant experience. If it actually got hold of you, it would do a lot of damage,” he said. Allan said his playing partner had asked if it was common place to see wild boar on the course. “I replied it was not, since the club had spent a lot of time and money reinforcing the outer perimeter to prevent them entering and causing damage. “He then pointed out that there was a rather large wild boar heading in our direction at speed – being spooked by the start of the shooting season - inside the fence.” LEAP Allan said on a previous encounter with a boar, and safely in his car driving home to Moraira one night, he had witnessed it jump up a dry stone wall at least two metres high. “It was
horrendous; it just leapt up and over. “That’s how I knew they could jump, although my partner didn’t believe me until it cleared the eight feet onto the raised tee.” He said he took a short piece of film as the boar passed by looking for an exit – but then the animal turned and doubled back. “We proceeded to return at haste to our buggies and at this point it turned towards us and charged – I put my foot down and plotted a course back to the clubhouse,” said Allan. “Fortunately my partner’s terrifying panic in grabbing the steering wheel and heading towards a palm tree did not cause our getaway to fail. “It probably got to within 10 feet of us and that was close enough! You could see the whites of its eyes and hear it grunting.” FREEDOM He said at some stage the boar decided freedom was more important than chasing golfers and it was seen “wallowing” in a patch of mud before escaping through a perimeter hedge. Allan said the course had been closed for 30 minutes while armed police attended – although they took no action to prevent the boar going back to the wild. Continued on page 3