Two 65-year old tortoises have gone missing from the back garden of a home in Lowestoft.

Police are treating the incident as theft and are seeking witnesses after the two Hermann tortoises were taken from a garden on Long Road, between Sunday, September 27 and Monday, September 28.

Their owner Barry Freestone, 68, described how he has had the tortoises for more than 50 years, buying them from a pet shop when he was 15.

He said: 'I had them in a run in the garden and when I returned from holiday earlier this week, my neighbour told me they were missing.

'I am concerned for their safety as whoever has got them might not know what they eat.

'They are part of the family, and my kids are distraught as they have grown up with them.'

Police are appealing for the return of the tortoises and are asking anyone who may have information about their whereabouts to come forward.

A spokesman said: 'The incident has been recorded as a theft and is being treated as such at the moment.'

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lowestoft South Safer Neighbourhood Team on 101, quoting reference LO/15/5610.