Lost tortoise found on Southampton street returns home after Daily Echo appeal

Tommy the tortoise was found rushing around Dunkirk Close in Lordswood on Friday, July 31, and was rescued by the RSPCA.

As previously reported, a concerned resident of the road spotted the tortoise on the move but despite putting the word out to try to find the owner of the tortoise, the local resident had no luck and contacted the RSPCA for help.

• Wandering tortoise rescued from roadside of Southampton street

Overjoyed owners David and Sylvia Clouder said that they searched for Tommy when they discovered he had gone missing and discovered that he had covered "quite a lot of ground" when they found out he was a few blocks away from their house.

They said: “We discovered Tommy the tortoise was missing on Thursday and we were so worried. We looked for him everywhere and feared the worst.

“When we saw his photo in the Daily Echo’s article saying that a stray tortoise had been found, we knew straight away that it was our Tommy. We immediately got on to the RSPCA who confirmed his identification. It turns out he had covered quite a lot of ground as he was found a couple of blocks from our house.

“We are so happy to have him back. He’s been with us for 50 years, and has some funny little habits, like head-butting shoes and nibbling shoe laces and the bottoms of trousers. We love him to bits.

“We are so grateful to the local resident who first spotted him on the street, and would like to thank the RSPCA for rescuing him and then looking after him so well at their Stubbington Ark Centre.

“We’d also like to say thank you to the Daily Echo for featuring his picture. If we hadn’t seen that article we would still be looking for Tommy.”

RSPCA Inspector Hannah Nixon said: “We are so pleased that our press appeal worked and over the moon that Tommy the tortoise has been reunited with his family.

“It was easy to confirm that Mr and Mrs Clouder were Tommy’s owners. The give away was his markings but also because he likes to headbutt shoes and that’s something only the owners would’ve known.”