The tortoise - named Dave - suddenly made an appearance back in the garden of owner Mike Killner’s Horsham home on Friday. Stunned Mike couldn’t believe his eyes when seven-year-old Dave dug himself out of the ground after hibernating for months buried beneath the earth. “He needed a good bath and a slap up meal but generally he was looking in pretty good shape. “It was good to seem him again after so long,” said Mike. When he first disappeared Mike posted a ‘missing’ notice on a Horsham lost-and-found pets social media page. “I searched everywhere for him,” said Mike. “We normally bring him inside when it gets cold. “I searched high and low but couldn’t find him. I thought a fox might have got him. “Then last Friday, it was sunny and I went out into the garden and he literally dug himself out of the ground. “It’s really nice to have him back. But I thought ‘bloody hell, mate, you have been buried in there for this long’.” Dave is now safely back with his fellow tortoise - Kate, who is also seven years old - and enjoying his favourite food: red peppers, cucumber and dandelions. And he’s become something of a celebrity after Mike revealed Dave’s surprise return on social media. Scores of people wrote of their relief that Dave had returned safely. Many posted: “Fantastic news!” and “So glad he’s safe!” But Mike isn’t taking any chances of losing Dave again. “He is getting a Bluetooth tracker come autumn,” he said. Have you read? Reports of goat on the loose in Horsham cause a stir Horsham woman left ‘humiliated’ after shop row Horsham businessman to fly out to Eastern Europe to help Ukrainian refugees