A BABY tortoise worth £120 was stolen from a Cwmbran aquatics centre after a woman sneaked it out in her pocket.

The six-month-old Horsfield tortoise called Daisy was stolen from a display tank at Maidenhead Aquatics Centre, based in Sunnydale garden centre, on Treherbert Road in Croesyceiliog, just before 2pm on Wednesday.

Shop workers say the woman was caught on CCTV lifting up the glass on the locked tank and putting the tortoise in her cardigan pocket.

They say she was then seen casually walking over to the counter and buying some meal worms before leaving the shop.

Staff realised one of the three tortoises in the tank was missing 20 minutes later and checked CCTV.

It was reported to the police who tracked the woman down.

Manager Matthew Hern said police found the woman had a set up ready for the tortoise at her home and had prepared a meal of fried potatoes for it.

Mr Hern said this food is completely unsuitable for tortoises.

He said: “I’m shocked that it was a middle aged woman. We do tend to look out for stereotypes so this woman would have gone totally unnoticed.”

The tortoise, which measures two to three inches in width, was returned to the aquatics centre within two hours from it being stolen.

Police confirmed they identified the woman through the CCTV provided them by the shop, and recovered the tortoise quickly.

A 44-year-old woman from the Cwmbran area was cautioned by police for theft.

The centre, which sells tropical ornamental fish and reptiles, has had other thefts in the past including the theft of lizards.