Police swoop on runaway Bilston tortoise
It was a bid for freedom that ended up with 30-year-old Charlie the tortoise facing a trip to a Black Country police station – but the story had a happy ending for the reptile who is now safely back at home.
The drama happened when West Midlands Police officers Pc Dan Hopkins and Pc Andy Lake were on patrol and saw the tortoise heading along Biddings Lane in Bilston on Tuesday.
The officers leapt out of their car to stop the animal heading for doom as it approached the busy Birmingham New Road.
The pet belongs to Graham and Ann Savage – who live 1,300ft from where Charlie's quest for freedom came to end. However his reunion with his owners wasn't straightforward as officers conducted door-to-door enquiries to return Charlie home.
Pc Hopkins said: "Pc Lake and I were talking about professional matters and all of a sudden he shouts 'tortoise' and we pulled over to the side of the road.
"Charlie was just about to step off the kerb and if we'd left it any longer he would have probably been squashed on the Birmingham New Road. We took him to Bilston Police Station and had him checked over by a vet to see if he was microchipped. We decided to knock on every door along Biddings Lane to see if we could reunite Charlie with his owner."
Mr and Mrs Savage, who have been married for 49 years, said they were delighted to have Charlie home.
"We were so worried," said 72-year-old Mrs Savage. "I was mowing the lawn and I looked round and he'd just gone - we searched for two hours and hadn't a clue where he'd gone. The policeman were lovely about it – I asked them if they'd taken Charlie's pawprints."
Charlie has escaped twice before but Mr Savage said he will now build a wall to contain him.
