Tommy the tortoise goes 'missing' after 63 years (From Bucks Free Press)

Tommy the tortoise from Hazlemere goes 'missing' after 63 years

10:09am Tuesday 24th July 2012 in News By Lawrence Dunhill

A COUPLE are desperately trying to find their pet tortoise which has gone missing after 63 years in the family.

Gordon and Doreen Scarlett realised ‘Tommy’ was missing from their garden in Hazlemere on Thursday, and fear someone might have got in and taken him.

A tearful Doreen, 74, said: “He lives in the garden in the summer where he’s got a run and a little house and he’s part of the family.

“We just felt that somebody has been round there. It’s the fact you don’t know where he is, and if somebody has taken him will they look after him?

“All the neighbours are looking for him...We just hope somebody brings him back.

“He’s got a concave shell which has got beautiful colours on it. He often gets stuck in corners and can’t get back out, but they are not as slow as people think.

“In the winter he lives in the house and he just sleeps - he slept for over six months once.”

Gordon, 71, said the Greek tortoise has been in his family ever since he was given to his brother for his eighth birthday.

He lived for many years at Gordon’s parents’ house in Studley Green, where he was popular with local children, before moving to the Scarlett’s home in Amersham Road.

Gordon, a retired mouldmaker, added: “He’s fenced in so he can’t get out, so we can’t see how he got through.

“If someone has taken him he’s just going to be a tortoise to them, but to us he’s part of the family.”

If you find Tommy please call the Scarletts on 01494 715018.