In the NPA’s letter to the regulator, they stated that they, “found it astonishing that the programme showed Wesley Omar stealing five pigs on separate occasions.

“In our opinion Channel 4 could be considered complicit in the theft of those pigs; they accompanied Wesley Omar to film his illegal activity, instead of alerting police.”

The letter continues: “Wesley already has a criminal conviction for theft of a pig from a previous incursion which was reported in the programme, so the production company were clearly aware of his record.

“NPA believes that Channel 4 has acted incredibly irresponsibly in this instance and should therefore be held accountable in some way. At the very least, they should furnish the police with information concerning any criminal activity gathered during the course of the programme production.”

The NPA assert that the programme, especially its title and promotion ahead of broadcast earlier in January glamorises illegal activity and suggests that the broadcast violated Rule 3.1 of the Broadcasting Code. That rule states that programming should not be broadcast on radio or TV if it is, “material likely to encourage or incite the commission of a crime or to lead to disorder”.

Read more about the NPA’s letter here.