The fires of passion: Horny tortoise starts a blaze by knocking over his own heating lamp and kills himself and his girlfriend

Henry the tortoise knocked over his own heating lamp in his rush to mate

It set fire to nearby wood chippings and caused the blaze in his home

Both he and girlfriend Alice were killed in the flames

Owner Alf Clayton said the tortoise had 'always been a bit of a one'



An amorous tortoise managed to burn down the conservatory he lived in - killing both himself and his partner - while trying to mate after emerging from hibernation

It is believed Henry the tortoise knocked over his own heating lamp in his rush to get acquainted with his mate Alice, which in turn set fire to wood chippings and caused the blaze in his home in Thornaby, Teesside.

His owner, Alf Clayton, believes Henry - who he described as 'a bit of a one' - woke from hibernation and began chasing Alice around.



The ruins left after amorous tortoise Henry knocked over his heating lamp while trying to mate with partner Alice. The blaze sadly killed the romantic pair when it broke just before 8pm on Saturday evening

Mr Clayton said: 'Henry had woken up and was trying to mate with his partner.

'He always was a bit of a one and had chased her around and must have knocked the heater over.'

The heater set fire to wood shavings, destroying the conservatory and damaging the garage and its roof.

Both Henry and Alice were killed in the fire.

Mr Clayton, a retired local authority worker, said the tortoises were his wife Gayner's pride and joy.

He said: 'She's devastated.

'Firefighters who attended said they would have perished from smoke inhalation and wouldn't have suffered.'

He praised a neighbour who alerted the couple to the blaze before 8pm on Saturday night.

Mr Clayton said: 'They spotted smoke coming out of our garage next to our home.

'My wife and I ran out. We managed to get the car out of the garage and then the conservatory, where the tortoises were, burst into flames.

The heater set fire to wood shavings, destroying the conservatory and damaging the garage and its roof

'There was no way we could get them out - it was too intense. We tried.



'It could have been so much worse.'

Mr Clayton said they could easily have lost the garage and their car - and an adjoining playroom used by the couple's 15 grandchildren.

Mrs Clayton works at Middlesbrough's Roseberry Park Hospital mental health centre.

Neither pensioner was hurt, but Mr Clayton is contacting insurers and says the cost amounts to 'many thousands'.

He said: 'If it hadn't been for our neighbour, it could have spread to our house.

'I also praise the fire brigade, who got here in minutes.'

Fire crews from Thornaby attended the home to put the blaze out. A Cleveland Fire Brigade spokesman said the cause was accidental - an incubator lamp appeared to have set material alight.





