A COUPLE who visited Ross for a weekend of fishing on the Wye made an "odd" discovery when they spotted a runaway giant tortoise walking through a field.

Jane and Mark Appleby, who live in Somerset, were walking back to their car after an afternoon of fishing just outside of Ross last Sunday (September 26) when Jane spotted the "huge" animal from a distance amongst a group of pheasants.

The couple, who were also accompanied by Jane’s brother and sister-in-law, called the farmer who owned the field, but he knew nothing about the tortoise.

The group then contacted Chase View vets in Ross and left the "friendly" tortoise with them.

Jane explained: "We were staying locally for the weekend and were fishing for the day on the Wye, just outside of Ross-on-Wye.

"Later in the afternoon as we were walking back to our car, I saw in the distance lots of pheasants, but in the middle of these I spotted something odd.

"As I walked closer, to my surprise I found it was a very large and friendly tortoise.

"He looked very healthy but obviously not where he should be.

"We decided to call the local vets who very kindly met us at their practice to check for microchips on the tortoise and hopefully reunite him with the owner.

"Thankfully on Monday (September 27), the vet kindly called me back to say they had found the owner who lived nearby, but were unable to give me any details."