We all know that pigs don’t actually fly but one person who will be hoping his season takes off tomorrow night is Gloucester wing Charlie Sharples.

The one-time England flier is fit and firing again and will be looking to help his team-mates inflict more misery on Worcester Warriors when they come to Kingsholm for a Premiership clash (7.45pm).

In what is certain to be a crackling atmosphere, the Gloucester fans are sure to turn up in their truckloads confident that their team won’t make a pig’s ear of things against a team that have yet to pick up even a point this season.

Meanwhile Sharples, who is enjoying his testimonial season, has taken time out from his rugby commitments to promote a live charity auction of Henson Pigs that takes place on Monday.

The Henson Pigs are being herded back indoors following a busy summer of bringing smiles to the county while educating the public about the rare Gloucestershire Old Spots breed.

The 43 playful pig characters have delighted children, families and sculpture trail aficionados; encouraging tourists and local residents to visit a range of different attractions in Gloucester and Gloucestershire, attracting 300,000 people. However, Henson’s good work is not quite over.

Marketing Gloucester, organisers of The Royal Three Counties Gloucestershire Old Spots Trail starring ‘Henson Pig’, have teamed up with the Pied Piper Appeal to raise much needed funds for three local charities. Proceeds from the auction will be split between the Pied Piper Appeal, Gloucestershire Arthritis Trust and Theatre Gloucestershire.

The one-metre tall sculptures will be spruced up and made ready for the live charity auction to be held at Highnam Court on Monday 25th September. Gates open at 6.30pm for time to view the pigs with the auction starting at 7.30pm. The Pied Piper has partnered with auction specialists AMS Auctions, so you can now go online and make a reserve bid for your favourite at: http://www.amsauctions.co.uk/auction.cgi?auction=1213

The popular pigs have been painted in a range of art styles from the Pop Art ‘Oink’ by Sophie Green, to Swarez’s Pollock-inspired ‘Jackson Porklock.’

BBC Countryfile presenter Adam Henson created his own pig, ingeniously working in facts about the Gloucestershire Old Spots breed into his design.

Renowned Gloucestershire artist PJ Crook and her husband Richard Parker Crook teamed-up to produce the Carrollesque ‘Tweedledum’ and ‘Tweedledee’. The prolific Tim Sutcliffe from Bristol had seven of his designs chosen for the Henson Trail, with one design, Piggy the Eagle, receiving the stamp of approval from Eddie the Eagle Edwards himself.

Jason Smith, chief executive of Marketing Gloucester, said: “It has been a joy seeing hundreds of thousands of people taking part in the trail and wonderful that these three worthy charities will continue to benefit from the fantastic artwork.”

Pied Piper Chairman Nick Broady added: “I think this auction is the first of its kind in our county and we are delighted that Marketing Gloucester chose us to stage the event and be one of the beneficiaries.

"Many local businesses are keen to own a Henson pig, they are very desirable and make people smile so we have high expectations they will raise much money at market. Our auction partner, Rob York and his team at AMS, have been invaluable and we thank them for their services and expertise.”

Contact the Pied Piper Appeal on 0300 422 6119 or email office@piedpiperappeal.co.uk to book your seat. If you are unable to attend the live auction, or want to ensure you secure your pig of choice, use the AMS Auction Online Bidding facility to leave your maximum bid by 5pm on Monday 25th September and the auctioneer will bid for you on the night.