A COUPLE say they fear for the health of their pet tortoise Samuel after he was stolen from their front garden.

The 60-year-old Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise was snatched from Linda and Roy Dowley’s house in Sandyhurst Lane, Ashford.

At this time of year, the creatures prepare to hibernate for the winter, and if that process is disrupted, Samuel could die.

Linda said: "We found his pen and his little house had been upended on the lawn and he was gone.

"We are very worried as whoever has taken him might not know how to look after him."

The Dowleys think whoever took Samuel had planned to steal him, and had probably been in their garden before.

* See the Kentish Express (October 26) for the full story.