A ROUTINE day at one of Cornwall’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRC) turned into an extraordinary animal rescue when site staff discovered a large female tortoise among the green waste.

Arnie was found safe and well at the St Erth site in West Cornwall, which is operated by SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK on behalf of Cornwall Council. Site staff member Kylie Osborne acted quickly to ensure she was cared for while efforts were made to trace her owner.

Using information available through the HWRC booking system, officers were able to identify and contact visitors who had booked slots for that morning, thereby tracing and reuniting Arnie's owner of 10 years and with their errant pet.

SUEZ operations manager Jon Davis said: “Our teams see all sorts of unusual items, but finding a tortoise was certainly a first for many of our staff."