Giant tortoises wheeled away from college

♦ Four giant tortoises have been reported stolen from a college, after they were taken from their shed at night in wheelbarrows.

Police said the reptiles – African spurred tortoises, which can live for more than 70 years and grow to 33in (84cm) – were stolen from Kingston Maurward College, Dorchester, on Wednesday night by thieves who used college wheelbarrows to transport them to a waiting vehicle. Giant tortoises fetch up to £7,000 online, and police hope to retrieve the creatures quickly, before they are sold on.

Sarah Hassall, the head of the animal welfare department, said staff and students at the specialist animal college were “devastated” and desperate for their safe return.