WHEN Shallbutt the spur-thighed tortoise went on an unplanned journey, his owner Lyn Redhead from Blaenffos, thought she’d never see her beloved reptile pet again.

However, six months later, farmer Wyn Jones of Trefach Farm, near Boncath came across the tortoise on a country lane, half a mile away from Shallbutt’s home.

Wyn, who was checking his cattle, couldn’t quite believe what he had come across, and on closer inspection decided to take the reptile home to safety.

“I was driving down the road when I thought I saw a piece of wood, mud or farm machinery but, as I got closer, I saw it was moving and I saw that it was a tortoise walking up the road towards me. I picked him up and he wasn’t happy and he started hissing at me," said Wyn.

"I then took him home to show my wife Glenda and she couldn’t believe it. We’ve seen some pretty big tortoises when we have been on holiday in Turkey, but have never come across a tortoise like this around here.

Shallbutt was originally a rescue tortoise, and has been described by Lyn as a bit of an escape artist.#

To arrive at the farm lane between Trefach farm and Pantyderi, he would have had to cross the main Crymych to Blaenffos road and possibly, depending which way he took, would have had to cross a river.

“After six months, my husband had started dismantling his home as we never thought we’d see him again."

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