EDWIN the tortoise was no slow coach when he went went walkabout.

His owner, Carol Denton, put him in the garden at her home in Cavendish Road for a treat - then he vanished.

That's not bad going for Edwin. He's only two- years- old and three inches long. But he managed to cross a busy road and wander along the pavement for nearly 500 yards, finishing his two day trek in another garden.

Carol's husband, Justin, said: "He's very lucky. He could have been trodden on by mistake or even run over."