A runaway tortoise that escaped even after a hole was drilled in her shell and she was tied to the ground has gone on the run again.
Dolly chewed through the string that was holding her in place before and ended up in a pub car park.
The 50 year-old was given to new owner Clare Moses who put her in her walled garden – who thinks she’s now escaped by tunnelling her way out.
Clare, 37, said: “Dolly used to be owned by a family friend who was so sick of her escaping that he pegged her to the ground by a length of string.
“But one day she chewed through that and went on the run – I think she ended up in a pub car park.
“I’ve known Dolly most my life and when I was given the chance to have her, I jumped at it.
“Obviously, we didn’t tie anything to her shell, but she’s still managed to escape from our garden.
“I don’t know how she managed it, she must have tunnelled or something, but we can’t find any holes.”
Tortoise Dolly weighs about a stone and measures more than 12 inches long, and was last seen by events manager Clare at her home in Chipstead, Kent in October.
The mum-of-three said: “One day I looked out into the garden and she was gone. I just thought she had found a place to hibernate, as she does every year.
“I’m not sure what type tortoise she is, but she’s always hibernates for a long time.
“She should have reappeared a couple of weeks ago, but she didn’t.
“We’ve dug up the garden and looked everywhere, and she’s nowhere to be seen.
“There have been reports of a tortoise being spotted in a village 15 miles away, but that wasn’t her.
“I have no idea where she is – while tortoises look slow, they can cover distances surprisingly quickly.
“She got out through an open gate once and five minutes later was found in a garden five houses away, happily munching on some geraniums.”
Dolly has a brown and green mottled shell, and a small hole drilled in the lip just by her back right leg.
Clare added: “I hope we can find Dolly.
“She’s a lovely pet and we give her a good home. We definitely don’t keep her in a tortoise prison.”
