A piggie parade that is set to draw many visitors to Ipswich and raise £100,000 for a hospice charity took off in style last night at a glittering launch event.

Around 40 porcine sculptures will be set out on a 10-week trail around the town and its popular Waterfront next summer in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice, as part of the ‘Pigs Gone Wild’ project.

Businesses, organisations and schools across the county attended the launch at Trinity Park.

The project is one of the latest ventures by Wild in Art, one of the country’s top creative producers of high-impact public art exhibitions, which recently worked with Norfolk charity Break to stage GoGoDragons! in Norwich.

The idea is to celebrate Suffolk’s agricultural heritage and to attract visitors to Ipswich, with the pigs auctioned in aid of St Elizabeth Hospice at the end of the project.

Terry Hunt, editor of the EADT and Ipswich Star, who are media partners for the project, said: “This is a great opportunity for all involved.

“It’s a huge opportunity for Ipswich to attract thousands of new visitors. The businesses and other organisations involved can enjoy high profiles in association with a fun event and, of course, we hope it raises a great deal of money for St Elizabeth Hospice, which does do much good work.”