90-year-old tortoise saved from refuse lorry

A 90-year-old tortoise from Westminster has had a very lucky escape after nearly ending up at a waste treatment facility.

Zuma managed to find his way into a bag of waste, which ended up on a refuse lorry. Luckily his owner Sarah Joiner realised what had happened before it was too late, and managed to raise the alarm, although tracking him down was easier said than done.

The Westminster City Council refuse team helped Sarah, who has owned Zuma since 1977, in the hunt for the tortoise. She said: “We went through about a thousand bags; it was ten tons on the lorry. The driver put the bags out in a long line, and we thought; ‘now we’ve got to get in there.’”

After hours of searching, Zuma was found safe and sound. “He’s absolutely fine; he’s out in the garden thinking ‘what is all the fuss about?’ - while the rest of us are completely frazzled,” added the relieved owner.

This clip is originally from 5 live Daily on Wednesday 10 August 2016.