Mrs T's new wheels

Attach a pair of wheels, of course.

The Welsh owners of nonagenarian tortoise Mrs T have invented a novel solution to their injured pet's mobility issues - an improvised pair of wheels that allowed her to double her usual pace.

"It was like fitting her with a turbo charger," owner Jude Ryder, 56, told the UK's Telegraph.

"She's going double the speed she used to. She uses her back legs to push herself along. She seems quite happy, but it's difficult to tell with a tortoise."

Mrs T's two front legs were chewed off by a malevolent rat while she was hibernating.

A vet was able to keep her alive, but Ms Ryder feared the extension of life would only be temporary if her pet's mobility was not restored.

So she turned to her 37-year-old son Dale, a mechanical engineer, who designed the wheels and attached them to the front of the shell with resin.

The results speak for themselves.

As a learner driver, Mrs T had some teething problems, but is becoming quite a speed freak on her new wheels, Ms Ryder said.

"She took to them straight away, but she has had to learn how to turn and stop," she told the Telegraph.

"She can get a good speed up, much faster than before. Mrs T is still quite young for a tortoise. She could go on for another 50 years - all she needs is a new set of tyres every now and again."

The wheels also have secondary benefits for Mrs T's devoted owners, who no longer need to worry about losing her in their Pembroke garden.

"We can always find her because she leaves very strange tracks behind wherever she goes," Ms Ryder said.