A tortoise has been returned with his grateful owner after it went for a wander in Beckenham.

Rossi, the 10-year-old Hermann's tortoise, was spotted by an off-duty Bromley Council contractor along Eden Park Avenue.

The missing tortoise is marked with the number 46 – in tribute to motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi.

After a social media appeal, Rossi was eventually reunited with his owner Tony Lock.

“Anything could have could have happened,” Tony, who lives in Beckenham, said.

“Rossi escaped from the garden and was legging it along the main road. In a way, Valentino Rossi helped reunite him with me because of the 46 transfer on Rossie’s shell.

“I’m so glad he was rescued and I can’t thank everyone enough for looking after him and helping me find him.”

Executive councillor for environment and community services, William Huntington-Thresher, said: “It’s great news that our detective work has paid off. We are very aware that pets are members of the family too, and how devastating it is if they go missing.

“Any help we can give is worth it, which is why we also try to offer some sort of closure to the owners of deceased, un-microchipped cats our street cleaners occasionally find.”

Tony is now considering getting Rossi microchipped to avoid a similar scare in future.