RESIDENTS and passers-by in the Mary Tavy area are being asked to keep a lookout for an elderly and much-loved tortoise which has gone missing.

'Crusty Pie' — because that is what he looks like — is believed to be around 60 years of age and has been missing for about five weeks from his Bal Lane home and there is growing concern for his welfare.

He needs a particular diet — no lettuce leaves — and is 'quite heavy for a small tortoise'; he is about the size of a side plate and typical of the pets kept by thousands a generation ago. He also has a small patch of nibble-marks on top of his shell from an over-friendly mouse.

One sighting of him was reported soon after his disappearance, when he was spotted crossing the A386 — using the pedestrian crossing!

Crusty came to his present owners about 23 years ago from family friends and is believed to have come into the UK in a handbag back in the 1960s, when restrictions did not exist on pet imports as they do now.

Unique as tortoises go, Crusty has a special place in the hearts of Tavistock children as a 'classroom assistant' at St Peter's and St Rumon's schools, which he has been visiting for some 15 years.  

He was due to have a role this term as a learning skills mascot, bringing to life one of the characters used, but sadly the children have missed this.

Any information can be passed to St Peter's, the Times, or to Mary Tavy Post Office.