A Furness tourist attraction is bringing a smile to the faces of visitors with its latest venture.

Gleaston Water Mill, near Ulverston, has opened a new shop totally dedicated to everything connected with pigs.

Decorated in bright pink, the Pig's Whisper stocks a whole host of giftware items all with a common theme.

From umbrellas and ornaments to stationery and money boxes, everything on sale has a pig connection.

The pig motif was a natural choice, according to Vicky Brereton, who with her husband Mike has run the water mill for the past 10 years.

She said the mill's association with pigs dated as far back to the 11th century, when the miller kept pigs on the site.

More recently, the Breretons have converted an old pig sty into a holiday cottage - dubbed the 'poshest pig sty in Cumbria' - which is usually booked up for most of the year, although like many others they have been hit by the foot-and-mouth outbreak over recent months.

The gift shop, converted from a redundant workshop , features a table, once used for curing ham, which is now filled with soft toy pigs.

Mrs Brereton said she hoped the new venture would help to widen the mill's appeal to visitors.

"We want to be the pig mecca for the north of England.

It's amazing how many people there are who are potty about pigs.

We are bringing a smile to our visitors' faces," she told Business Gazette.

Mr Brereton has even created a shop website (www.pigswhisper.com), which has created three part-time jobs.

Now the couple want to hear from anyone making pig-related gifts which could go in the shop.