Scuttle the tortoise home after eight-month wander

A runaway tortoise called Scuttle is back home after an eight-month disappearance.

The roaming reptile went missing from its enclosure at Cusgarne, near Truro, Cornwall, in August 2025, and her owners were worried she had gone forever, with her also thought to have hibernated for winter while she was missing.

But earlier this month Scuttle was found at the bottom of a neighbouring field, none the worse for her adventures.

Owner Fiona Sherriff, 58, said: "I was just elated and so grateful to my neighbours for finding her."

She said Scuttle had been in her family since she was a girl and she felt "upset and mortified and embarrassed" when the peripatetic pet escaped.

"She's been a naughty girl, although she didn't actually go that far away," said Sherriff.

"When she was found a few weeks ago, she was actually at the bottom of the neighbouring field, so she had obviously found somewhere she preferred."

She said Scuttle had been in her family since she was a girl and she felt "upset and mortified and embarrassed" when the peripatetic pet escaped.

"She's been a naughty girl, although she didn't actually go that far away," said Sherriff.

"When she was found a few weeks ago, she was actually at the bottom of the neighbouring field, so she had obviously found somewhere she preferred."

The Sherriff family said they believed Scuttle was a Hermann's tortoise and about 70 years old, but they did not know her exact age.

Sherriff added: "When we were kids we were given the opportunity to name it and because it ran so fast it got called Scuttle."

The tortoise is now safely back in its enclosure with fellow tortoise Pickford, being spoiled with large quantities of dandelions and lettuce.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk.