MOST of us are familiar with the celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Ainsley Harriet and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. Given the chance, would you give Jamie and his eight brothers and sisters a home? Well, I m sure most of you would but unfortunately the real J

MOST of us are familiar with the celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Ainsley Harriet and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.

Given the chance, would you give Jamie and his eight brothers and sisters a home?

Well, I'm sure most of you would but unfortunately the real Jamie Oliver, who has one sibling, is not looking for a new place.

Jamie the piglet, on the other hand, and his siblings Oliver, Hugh, Fearnley, Anthony, Worral, Ainsley, Harriet and Marguerite, are in need of a home.

The surprise birth of the litter has led to an urgent appeal from Southridge RSPCA Animal Centre, in South Mimms, to find suitable homes.

The piglets' parents - one-year-old Charlotte and Wilber - were brought to the animal care home a few months ago.

Now the porcine pair surprised staff with the unexpected litter, even though Wilber is castrated!

Anna White, manager of the Packhorse Lane centre, said: "The only way this could have happened is if Charlotte fell pregnant just before she came here.

"I couldn't believe it when I found her lying on her side surrounded by the new-born piglets."

Staff came up with the celebrity names as Jamie Oliver has this year championed the cause of British pigs in his programme Jamie Saves Our Bacon and currently supports the RSPCA's year long Rooting for Pigs campaign.

Anna added: "Our centres run at full capacity, and with donations dropping because of the credit crunch the sad fact is we cannot afford to keep them indefinitely.

"Our only hope is that we can find people who have the space and expertise to raise Jamie and his brothers and sisters."

Although farmers or smallholders may be best suited to taking on the piglets, the RSPCA will consider all applications on an individual basis.

Owning and caring for a pig requires commitment, time, skill, money, sufficient land on which to house the animals, specialist veterinary care and compliance with the legislation governing keeping a pig.

If you can offer Jamie and his siblings a new start in life, call the animal care home on 0300 123 0704.