Hanover police bring home the bacon ahead of derby

BERLIN (Reuters) - Hanover police were called into action ahead of Friday's Lower Saxony derby between Hanover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig, picking up a pig sporting a Hanover 96 scarf in the city centre as tempers between fans rose, they said on Thursday.

With 96 written on one side and a green scarf around its neck, the pig was spotted wandering through the city on Wednesday night.

Police, who have since transferred it to a shelter, are on full alert ahead of the first Bundesliga derby in 37 years between the bitter regional rivals.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)