COULD this be the fastest tortoise in the west? One relieved pet-sitter certainly thinks so.

Munu Jutle was helping his sister look after Sydney but could not find the tortoise when he turned his attention to his fish for a brief moment.

Fortunately for Munu, Sydney survived the snowy winter and has reappeared nine months after he went missing.

“He must be quick as I only turned my back for a second and he was gone,” he said. “I got so much abuse off people for losing him but one minute he was there and the next he was gone.”

Munu and his family spent two frantic weeks trying to find Sydney, staying up through the night in an attempt to trace the pet they were looking after for a friend.

All hope seemed lost as the months passed but, one day earlier this month, the tortoise was found by a neighbour.

Sydney, though, backed up Munu’s claims that he really is quick on his feet by vanishing before the group returned to collect him.

But Munu, who works at Wyevale Garden Centre, was not giving up and later that evening spotted him when he peered over the garden fence.

He then kept a close eye on Sydney until his grateful owner collected him from the Kings Acre home – nine months after dropping him off for an intended one-week stay.