Tortoise Sex Brought the House Down

• Mating tortoises knock over heater, starting fire on Ricky Road.
• Both creatures killed in resulting inferno.

Aftermath

Henry the tortoise woke up from his winter nap feeling rather frisky.

In a remarkable, (and Darwin Award worthy) feat he managed to burn down his owners’ conservatory.

His owner Alf Clayton speculates that he put the moves on his mate Alice a bit too vigorously “…He always was a bit of a one and had chased her around and must have knocked the heater over.”

The heat then set the wood chips in the cage alight, tragically killing poor Henry and his lover.

Neighbours saw smoke coming out of the houses’ garage on Richardson Road in Thornaby and raised the alarm. The Claytons managed to remove their car from the garage, just as, in true action movie style the conservatory burst into flames.

The heat was far too intense for the couple to save Mrs Clayton’s pride and joy. The fire brigade have assured them that the pair would not have suffered.

Together forever.

There’s probably a moral in this somewhere…

Rest in Peace, Henry and Alice.