The owner of a 90-year-old tortoise was forced to sift through tonnes of rubbish after realising her beloved pet had been accidentally thrown out with the household waste.

Panicked Sarah Joiner called Westminster City Council after realising her pet, Zuma, had crawled into a bag of rubbish which had been taken by a refuse lorry on Friday (August 6).

However, with the help of Veolia, which collects waste in the borough, she was incredibly able to track down her intrepid companion of four decades.

Ms Joiner, who is 56 and has multiple sclerosis, has lived in Westminster all her life. After calling the council, it was able to use GPS satellite tracking to find the refuse lorry as it made its way with the getaway tortoise to a Veolia operated waste treatment facility where black bag waste is processed.

Zuma is reunited with his owner Sarah Joiner after she and others had sifted through around 1,000 bin bags at a waste centre

Luckily for the curious chelonian, the collection vehicle, which was carrying 10 tonnes of waste, was still on its round and had not yet tipped its waste into the massive storage bunker which processes thousands of tonnes of waste.

Ms Joiner arrived at the centre and after a brief safety briefing put on protective clothing to help the search for Zuma alongside waste management staff.

After two-and-a-half hours trawling through around 1,000 black bags, and with the help of a thermal imaging camera, the pet was found safe and well and unaware of his extraordinary adventure.

Afterwards, the grateful owner said: “Thank you is never going to be enough. It was amazing teamwork. There was no nonsense about it just enormous goodwill in finding him.”

Zuma the 90-year-old tortoise shows no signs of his recent ordeal as he tucks into a bit of salad

Cllr Melvyn Caplan, head of the council’s management and customer services said: “We’ve all had that feeling of panic when we realise we’ve lost something, but when it’s a much loved family pet then it really is a disaster.

"On this occasion the understanding and hard work of our waste services staff is an exemplar of how we strive to ensure our residents receive outstanding customer service.

"This example of going above and beyond what is required is one Westminster can be proud of, and I commend our staff and colleagues at Veolia for pulling out the stops to ensure a successful reunion between Zuma and Sarah.”

Earlier this year two baby tortoises were found at Paddington Station .

And in 2011 two 90-year-old tortoises were taken from a popular attraction in Feltham .