Four valuable tortoises belonging to a 76-year-old woman have been stolen in broad daylight from the back garden of her flat in Park Road, Kingston.

Shirley Scott had bred two of the tortoises from eggs 17 years ago and considered them part of the family.

She said: "One is called Friday, because it was born on a Friday and the other is called Tavvy. The other two are just babies, about 18 months old. We hadn't given them names yet."

The four reptiles are spur-thighed tortoises and can fetch up to £300 each in a petshop.

She said: "I'm sure they were taken for the money. Now you can't import tortoises anymore, they are far more valuable."

On Friday last week, Mrs Scott was approached by a scruffy-looking man while gardening outside her ground floor flat.

She said: "I was in the front garden and this man, a traveller, came up and started talking to me. Looking back, I can see he was determined to get into my house or garden. He then wandered around to my back garden, and started talking about the big trees that overhang from my neighbour's garden. We assumed he was there to cut them down.

"While I was in the back garden with him, two of the tortoises were in their pen and the two bigger ones were just lying in the sun.

"I thought it was strange actually that he didn't comment on them, everyone normally does.

"We finally persuaded him to leave."

The following morning at about 11am, Mrs Scott was in her bathroom when she saw a man walking away from her back garden. When her husband Jay went outside to investigate, he saw the tortoises had disappeared. Nothing else was missing.

Mrs Scott said: "I am worried about one tortoise in particular as it only has three legs after it was attacked by a fox two years ago. Also, I know what they eat and don't eat, and I'm worried they won't be looked after properly. They are our pets and we miss them."

Anyone with information about the theft can call the crime management unit at Kingston Police on 020 8721 5868.