'My huge three-stone tortoise follows me everywhere - even down to the pub'

A grandmother has built a special bond with her giant tortoise - even taking it to her local pub. Mr Miyagi - an African sulcata tortoise - follows Jackie Leek everywhere she goes. The pair have become inseparable with Jackie taking her eight-year-old pet on regular walks and even on holiday to her caravan.

He weighs around three stone (19kg) and is expected to reach 10 stone (63kg) when fully grown. And because he could live to be 120 Jackie has even set up a trust fund to look after him when she has gone. She said: “I open the door and he just follows me down the drive and onto the estate, where we live. He will just follow me and we have little walks.

“People will abandon their cars when they see us, they will stop and ask if he’s real and if they can touch him. I take him to the beach and there’s a little quiet bit where I take him. “But I went there on a Bank Holiday Monday and before I knew it, we were surrounded by people and everyone was having a photo shoot with him - it was mad.

“People always do double turns, I once had eight cars all stop in the road and everyone got out of their vehicles. People also can't believe how heavy he is.”

Jackie bought Mr Miyagi for company while recovering from cancer 18 months ago. She was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow, and breast cancer around four years ago.

After having radiotherapy she felt lonely and bought her first tortoise, Thor. Sadly he died after three years. The mum-of-two, from Warrington, Cheshire, then bought Mr Miyagi.

She said: “I never had an interest in reptiles or tortoises ever - I'm terrified of snakes. I never thought I would get a tortoise. “He helps me loads, I do have some dark days. I'm getting stronger after my diagnosis but Mr Miyagi is helping me. “I couldn't go back to work because of my immune system and I have to watch where I go and what I do, so he's a massive part of my life.

“He gives me a purpose and when I'm crying, he sits there and I talk to him.” Jackie, a former nurse said: “He takes himself off to bed at around 5pm and he will sleep until 8am unless I get up and he hears me in the kitchen.

“He's dead gentle and will sit on my slippers. If we leave him alone in the house, then you think we would have been burgled because he re-arranges the furniture.”

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She added: “He doesn't like the colour black, I don't know what exactly it is. My mop bucket is black and he will ram it around the house.” Jackie has a trust fund set up for Mr Miyagi, so whoever takes care of him after she dies, will be able to afford it. She said: “I've made plans for when I'm not here so my partner will keep him for as long as he can. “After that, I'm hoping my daughter will take him and I've left money with him because they aren't cheap and he has the best insurance and the best vets.”