A gamekeeper has told how he shot dead a 350lb wild boar in a Sussex woodland.

John Cook, from Wadhurst, was clearing trees at Rughfields Farm, Hurst Green, when he heard a rustling in the undergrowth.

Mr Cook, 54, said: "I saw something snuffling about and realised it was a boar.

"Its forequarters were quite immense. It was the first time I had ever seen a wild boar and it was quite impressive.

"I shot it. They can cause a lot of damage and have been known to attack the sheep and livestock and even people. I have a job to do as a gamekeeper. They can be quite unpleasant and go for you."

The animal weighed 248lb after being skinned and Mr Cook said its hide would have weighed another 100lb.

The boar will now be served up as part of a special menu at a hotel in Kent.

The Agriculture Ministry believes there are up to 300 wild boar, renowned for their sharp tusks and bad tempers, loose and breeding in the Sussex and Kent countryside.

PC Greg Deacon, from Heathfield, said a small population of wild boar lived near the town but no attacks had been reported.

He said: "Basically, it is best to avoid them but they are probably more frightened of us than we are of them. They tend to evade humans as much as possible."

There have also been reported sightings of wild boar, which are believed to have escaped from breeding farms in Sussex, in the Little London Road area of Heathfield and in woodland north of Hastings.

Boar were once a common sight in the English countryside but were hunted to extinction in the 17th Century.