Tortoise that ended up at tip reunited with owner

An adventurous tortoise is home safe and well after being rescued from a recycling and garden waste centre.

Arnold ventured into owner Jacqueline Sear's garden waste bag before she was unknowingly taken to St Erth Household Waste and Recycling Centre in Cornwall on Tuesday.

Suez, which runs the facility, sent out emails asking customers who had been at the centre on Tuesday if they had lost a tortoise.

Arnie's owner said she was relieved her "very curious" tortoise was found alive after initially fearing the worst.

Sear said she had been filling up a garden waste bag since Sunday but at one point she noticed the bag had fallen over - or so she thought.

"Arnie had knocked the bag over, climbed in it and spent the night in there, all day Monday, and then on Tuesday morning we took her to dump unbeknownst to me," she said.

Suez senior site manager Stuart Parker said finding Arnie's owner was "quite simple" thanks to the facility's booking system.

"The team contacted all people that booked a slot that morning by sending them an email and within four hours Arnie and her owner were reunited," he said.

"We urge people as they are clearing their gardens to be aware that wildlife, mainly hedgehogs, could be hiding within the garden waste."

Parker said staff carried out regular checks of all the bins for fire risks such as contaminated waste, gas bottles and batteries, before compaction and when they saw movement, they took immediate and "delicate action" to remove Arnie from the green waste bin and away from any dangers.

Sear said Arnie was "absolutely fine" after her little adventure.

"She had enough to eat in the skip because it was full of garden refuse," she said.

Arnie was rehomed by her previous owner when she was 12 years old because they found her "too adventurous and independent".

"Arnie is very curious, she investigates everything, and headbutts things," said Sear.

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