the cleaners could have unwittingly scooped it up into a bin bag

Theme park manager Robin Roberts

It was only found after passengers had left the plane at Birmingham International Airport.

The two-inch long baby reptile is now recovering at a zoo near Tamworth, in Staffordshire after suffering mild dehydration.

Robin Roberts, manager of the zoo at Drayton Manor family theme park, said they were pleased to give the tortoise a home.

"Once everybody had got off the plane, the cabin crew spotted the tortoise crawling about on the floor.

"It's so small, somebody could have trodden on it or the cleaners could have unwittingly scooped it up into a bin bag."

It is believed the tortoise, now dubbed Fez, may have been smuggled on to the aircraft and then abandoned or lost.

The creatures which are relatively rare in the UK can be worth up to �300 each.