Roaming pet tortoise found after 18 months

A pet tortoise that went missing for 18 months has been discovered in a burrow just over a mile from home.

Tallulah, 20, escaped her house near Arrington, Cambridgeshire in early 2023 when the family had building works going on.

Linzi Cavanagh, Tallulah's owner, said she and her four children were "completely devastated" when they were unable to find her.

Despite their best efforts, Tallulah went undetected until she was spotted by a horse rider near the village of Croydon earlier this month.

Mrs Cavanagh said her family did everything to try to find Tallulah after she disappeared.

"There were 16, 17 of us with rakes doing the whole of the fields up and down where we live, but we couldn't find her," he said.

She put posters on her local Facebook page and bus stops around the area.

Eighteen months later, local horse rider Bryan Murray saw one of the posters and the very next day spotted Tallulah while on a ride.

"I'm a bit of a birdwatcher so notice anything that's different," he said.

"I got closer to it and said, 'I know that tortoise'."

Mr Murray said Tallulah had made herself a burrow to stay sheltered from the elements.

Mrs Cavanagh said she was "a bit hysterical" when Tallulah was handed back to her.

"I couldn't believe we'd ever get her back," she said.

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