Tortoises Stolen From New Forest Back Garden

16 January 2014, 07:54 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

11 tortoises worth £3,500 have been stolen from a back garden in the New Forest.

Police are appealing for information after they were taken in Mortimer Close, Calmore.
 
It happened sometime between 3 and 6pm on Friday 20 December when the owner was out at the shops. The creatures were in a pen in the back garden at the time. It’s believed the thieves got in through a gate. They have a combined value of around £3,500.
 
There were several different varieties of the animals of differing sizes, sexes and ages including Red Foot, Leopard and Spur thigh.
 
The exact details of the tortoises are:
 
Red Foot Tortoises
2 x females – both 30-40 years old approx 18” across plastron (belly from top to bottom)
1 x male - 30-40 years old approx 18” across plastron
 
Leopard Tortoises
1 x female 20 years old 20” across plastron
1 x female 12 years old 15” across plastron
1 x male 12 years old 17-18” across plastron
 
Horsefield Tortoises
2 x males 6-7 years old 8-10” across plastron
 
Dwarf Hermann Tortoises
2 x females 7 years old approx 8” across plastron
 
Spur Thigh Tortoise

1 x male 12 years old 9-10” across plastron - Microchipped

Anyone with information about the crime or who thinks they may have been offered one of the animals for sale is asked to call Acting Sgt Dean Miller at Hythe Police Station on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.