Quantcast
Channel: The Girl Headlines on One News Page [United Kingdom]
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 17400

Tortoise spends 5 days on the run - but only makes it half a mile from home

$
0
0
Tortoise spends 5 days on the run - but only makes it half a mile from home This is Sussex --

A TEARAWAY tortoise that escaped from its Northgate home has been reunited with its five-year-old owner after spending five days on the run.

The tortoise – named Aston after the Aston Martin sports car – made a less than speedy getaway, having travelled just half a mile in that time.

Aston was reunited with owner Eloise Peters and her dad David at their home in Green Lane on Monday last week.

Eloise is now hoping to locate the little girl who found Aston and thank her for helping the pet to return home safely.

David explained: "It was after school that Eloise realised that Aston was missing.

"He was seen in the alleyway next to my house on the Thursday. Other parents said they'd seen a tortoise and confirmed he was around the area."

Eloise spends half her time at her mum's and left her dad with strict instructions to find her tortoise.

He said: "There was no sign of Aston on Saturday and Sunday so I phoned the police on Sunday to report a missing tortoise.

"I thought that any kindly person might find him and turn him in.

"Then on Monday after school we had a phone call from the police, who had him in custody!"

David said that Eloise was absolutely ecstatic that her tortoise had been found alive and well.

But he added: "Eloise told Aston off. He must have crossed the road.

"She wanted to know where he'd been and who he'd been with."

David explained that another little girl had found Aston when she retrieved her ball from a bush at the end of Woodfield Road.

He said: "That's quite a trot. It would only take five to eight minutes for a human to walk but it's a two or three-day walk for a tortoise."

The girl who discovered Aston told her parents, who contacted vets to try to find the tortoise's owners, to no avail.

The family then contacted a local "tortoise expert", whose identity is unknown, who returned Aston to Eloise via the police.

Their pet's return came with a shock – as for the five years the Peters family have owned Aston they thought he was male.

But the tortoise-expert revealed that Aston – and his supposed "brother" Martin – are both actually female.

David said all his neighbours – one of whom looks after Shelley the Blue Peter tortoise – kept an eye out for Aston

The animal had escaped from the family's garden through a gap in the fence.

David has now improved security measures at his home.

He said: "Eloise wants to find the girl to say thank you and share her sweets with her."

If you know the girl who found Aston e-mail editor@crawleynews.co.uk or call 01293 325914. Reported by This is 19 hours ago.

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 17400

Latest Images

Trending Articles



Latest Images

<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>