A turtle was found abandoned in the middle of the road in Whitwick - and was rescued by a passer-by.

And the centre now caring for it believes the reptile is lucky to be alive after being saved from the traffic.

The Map Turtle was looked after before being taken it to the Animal Crisis Team in Swadlincote who are now appealing for a large tank so it can continue its recovery.

"This isn't uncommon unfortunately," said the Animal Crisis Team manager Tina Holmes.

"We heard recently about a pillowcase full of snakes that were left in the road in Doncaster recently.

"This turtle was found abandoned in the middle of the road miles from any water source.

"It's lucky to be alive but we weren't convinced it would live through the night when we arrived here on Friday morning.

"The lady who found it wasn't sure what to do with it, it's an aquatic animal.

'But within an hour of it being here, it looked massively different, it was all shrivelled up and was cold and dry. It was dehydrated.

"But when we got in it was was exploring its enclosure as though it'd always been here. It was having a great time.

"People do abandon these animals and we would say, if you want to do that, abandon them with us and we won't ask any questions.

"If you're so desperate to get rid of something, put it in our bins! We'll look after it."

Now the Crisis Team are appealing for tank to house the turtle - and anyone donating towards its upkeep will get a chance to name it.

Tina added: "We've had offers of a small tank but we need something bigger, it's got to have a heat light and the tank has to be wider than the light fitting.

"The turtle is about four inches long and it needs room to explore and stretch its legs.

"We don't have anything suitable for this guy so we've had to adapt a rabbit cage.

"But we can't filter the water and it's not deep enough, turtles need about eight inches of water."

The turtle has yet to be given a name though and Tina added: "We will take donations for his care with name suggestions and we'll put them in a hat and pick one at the end of the week."