I fear that it was not anything as exotic as an eagle that abducted Mr Durnford’s tortoise (Letters, July 21). The blame probably lies with our old friend Mr Fox.

Our tortoise was fished out of his box and then endured a night of being gnawed at.

Although tortoises can tuck themselves in, it does leave the ends of their feet exposed and both his front feet sustained a lot of damage.

Thankfully, he survived and now just walks a bit lopsided as he has no toenails on one foot.

I would like to warn tortoise owners that foxes are extremely persistent and you need to make sure the pen is secure. In our case it meant covering over the top of the pen with stout wire.

Allan Hook, Petworth Road, Brighton