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Posted by Wes vo Papineau on July 03, 2002 at 10:21:11:
Photo: Where shell I go today ... Tina uses her off-road wheel to tackle grassy hill, thanks to a fitted axle
THE SUN (London, UK) 03 July 02 Tortoise and the spare (John Coles)
TINA the three-legged tortoise is happily shuffling about again after being given a special wheel — and a set of SPARES.
She had become depressed after a mystery predator bit off her right rear leg.
Then model shop boss Simon England fitted a tiny axle to her shell.
He added a 2in wheel and made several others for different surfaces.
Simon, of Frome, Somerset, was contacted by Longleat Safari Park, Wilts, where 50-year-old Tina is in pets’ corner.
Her carer Darren Beasley, 33, said: “She had a wheel before but it dug into her. She’s got a new lease of life.”
Simon, 37, said: “It’s the strangest job I’ve been involved with.”