Your Local Guardian:

A "huge" reward is being offered for the return of a very small tortoise stolen from a community fun day on Sunday.

Winston, a beloved pet who survived a deadly illness, was swiped at about 4.30pm yesterday at the Epsom and Ewell Borough Family Fun Day at Hook Road Arena, Epsom.

Animal education organisation Darwin Kingdom brought Winston to the charity event along with snakes, tarantulas, raccoon dogs, frogs, lizards and other animals.

Your Local Guardian:

Sally Witney, 23, co-founder of Darwin Kingdom, said they would pay several hundred pounds for the return of the four-inch tortoise who requires specialist care.

On Sunday, Ms Witney said: "It was getting quite quiet and we were approached by a large family with six or seven children. It was standard distraction technique.

"They were grabbing animals and causing a lot of chaos on the stand.

"When they had gone, that’s when we realised they had stolen a small tortoise."

A mesh run had been broken into and one of the smallest tortoises, Winston, had disappeared.

She said: "We are really, really upset. When we got him as a baby he was really ill and we have done a lot of work with him medically.

"He’s our little survivor. We have managed to bring him back from the brink of death and now this happens."

As a baby Winston had a mystery illness which killed his sister but he managed to slowly recover thanks to a feeding tube and medication.

Ms Witney, from Cobham, said: "It was a case of playing it by ear every day to see if he improved. We were very lucky."

She added: "We don’t care about pressing charges. We don’t care about getting police involved.

"All we want is to have him back home. He’s a beloved family pet and that is more important than getting police involved."

Winston is a juvenile African spur-thighed tortoise with a slightly ingrown beak. He is about a year old.

Thousands of people attended the family fun day featuring more than 140 stalls, children’s games, refreshments, a fun fair, dog show and other entertainment.

Ms Witney said: "Until that it was a fantastic day. It was right at the end it got ruined."

If you find Winston, call Sally or Sophie on 07411 450616 or 07415 253599.