Burglars steal third year’s tortoise on Alton Road

Devastated third years had their house ransacked in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Opportunistic thieves made off with a PlayStation, laptops and a tortoise called Eugene from the house on Alton Road.

The boys got back from Roosters after a night out when they noticed a few things were missing.

Dan, who lives in the house, told The Tab: “After I got home on Saturday night, I was sat eating a Roosters with my friend and then realised the PlayStations were gone.

“I assumed they’d just been moved as we’d had a party. Then I went upstairs and half my stuff was missing, so I called my friend back and phoned the police at probably around 4am.

“The usual burglar stuff was taken: laptops, iPods, Playstations, then a couple of more unusual items like a bottle of aftershave and my tortoise.”

Eugene was pied from his home in Shell-y Oak

The third year Mechanical Engineering student expressed his concerns for the robbed reptile.

Eugene has a special heat lamp, without which he might start to hibernate.

Dan added: “My mum is gutted about the tortoise. She looked after him all summer and I’ve only just taken him back this week.

“We have a few younger members of the family who will also be very upset.

“I’ve had the tortoise for just over a year and to be honest, I’m more worried about him being taken and dumped somewhere or thrown around or something as he will die, and that’s just cruel and unnecessary.

“If he’s sold to a nice home, obviously it’s not ideal, but at least he’s looked after.”

Lost tortoise posters have been put up around Selly

The students are still questioning how an intruder could have entered their home.

“We aren’t sure how they got in. Forensics took photos of everything. There is nothing broken or anything, it was a very clean job.”

Dan urged students to stay alert in Selly Oak to prevent further incidents from happening in the future.

He said: “I’m very thankful for the response so far. I saw some people checking through their bins last night and I’ve had a few random people message me saying they’re checking websites.

“Always stay vigilant and don’t get complacent because being robbed is an absolute ball ache.”

Luckily for Dan, one of his most precious items survived the break in.

“Whoever it was is an idiot for forgetting to steal my Fab n Halloween ticket which was very much on show.”

The West Midlands Police added: “We were called to the scene of a reported burglary in the early hours of Sunday morning. We are currently investigating further.”

We hope Eugene is returned safe and sound to his heat lamp soon. #GetEugeneHome