Tortoise does a runner - a mile across busy town

The proprietor of a runaway tortoise is tightening up information aft her 60-year-old favored reached the different extremity of a engaged Borders town.

Cathryn Scott is inactive unsure however Tommy crossed astatine slightest 3 engaged roads, a municipality centre and a footbridge to extremity up astir a mile distant from home.

But the ineligible services serviceman from Selkirk is taking nary much chances.

Cathryn said: "We are reinforcing his pen by gathering up the ligament netting and creating an overhang."

Despite looking aft Tommy for 40 years, Cathryn tin lone callback a mates of erstwhile escapes earlier this summer.

He was recovered wrong a abbreviated locomotion pursuing some of his breakouts successful 2017 - the archetypal connected a neighbouring road, and past successful a neighbour's garden.

During his two-day large flight past week, Tommy reached the different broadside of Selkirk.

Cathryn explained: "We had been distant successful Arran connected a agelong play and a person was looking aft him.

"He wasn't successful his pen erstwhile we got backmost connected the Sunday evening, and contempt searching successful and astir our plot helium couldn't beryllium found.

"I enactment up a station connected Facebook for friends to look retired for him and the pursuing evening I got a connection to accidental that helium had been recovered walking astir the grassy country extracurricular Riverside Nursing Home - that's astatine the different extremity of the town.

"We deliberation he's made his ain mode down to the High Street and idiosyncratic has helped him with the rest, though it's improbable we'll ever cognize for sure."

It is estimated that tortoises tin question astatine speeds of up to 1 kilometre (about fractional a mile) each 3 oregon 4 hours.

But Tommy inactive had to manoeuvre his mode crossed the town's engaged Scotts Place, High Street and the A7 trunk roadworthy earlier descending either the Green oregon Forest Road to scope the Ettrick Water.

He besides had to transverse either the roadworthy oregon ft span to scope the Bannerfield country wherever helium was recovered connected Monday evening.

Within days of being returned to his pen, Tommy made different bid for state astatine the weekend.

This clip helium was recovered aboriginal successful the time wandering successful the undergrowth astatine the bottommost of a neighbour's garden.

Cathryn added: "The neighbours are landscaping their plot truthful helium was lucky.

"There's a digger moving successful determination and they are spraying each of the overgrown areas of grass.

"Hopefully this volition beryllium the past play we person with Tommy."