Lost tortoise, 90, found among 1,000 bags of rubbish
LONDON: Zuma a 90-year-old tortoise who hitched a lift in a bin lorry has been rescued from 1,000 bags of London rubbish - with the help of new technology.
Sarah Joiner contacted Westminster council when she realised her missing pet might have crawled into a bin bag.
Using satellite tracking, the council located the truck carrying 10 tons of waste, just before it tipped its bags into a massive storage bunker which processes thousands of tons of waste.
Dressed in protective clothing, Mrs Joiner and staff from waste contractor Veolia used a thermal imaging camera to hunt for the lost tortoise amid 1,000 bags of rubbish. It was eventually found in a pile of lettuce leaves, plucked to safety and returned home.
Zuma, a male African spurred tortoise, has lived with Mrs Joiner, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, for 40 years.
"Thank you is never going to be enough," she said. "It was amazing teamwork - there was no nonsense about it just enormous good will in finding him."