UPDATED: Mystery object may have been identified

Mercury reader Tanya Clarke sent in this photo, saying it is fact a pig.

She said: "I saw it on the way to Asda yesterday afternoon. The stick was already there. It's definitely a pig - a full pig. I saw it on Tuesday when it was drowning."

On Tuesday afternoon, cars parked on yellow lines and on grass in a rush to see the mystery object.

The news broke on this website and now a debate has broken out about what it might have been.

Andrew Coles told the Mercury he came running out of Central Motor Co thinking somebody had jumped into the water, and he heard rumours a body was in the river.

He said: “I think it was a pig or cow’s head. But I heard people saying ‘look, you can see a hand!’ But I think it was just the animal’s ears flopping around.”

Steve Chinn, from Central Motor Co, said: “I just went out to see where all my staff had gone. I saw them out there looking at this object.”

Adam Brame added: “The town was gridlocked with everybody coming to have a look. The town almost came to a standstill.”

Our story has been read by thousands of people world-wide and had been trending on Twitter. People tweeted “Breaking News from the UK” – please retweet. Julie Benson, from Taylors Barbers, said she thought the object was a stone, while Jamie Meakin thought it was a dog.

But the consensus, supported by Adam Brame, Craig Little, Steve Chinn and Lewis Teather was that it was a pig’s head.

Some people waited for around two hours and said they did not see the object removed and believe it is still in the river.

Mercury reporter Angela Brennan returned to the scene today and could find no sign of the object.

Coral Pople told the Mercury at the scene yesterday: “I’ve been here for 45 minutes. Everyone was saying it was a turtle – but it looks more like a pig to me.”

Police officers also attended the scene but left shortly after.

Have you seen it? What do you think it is? Leave your comment below.