Watch me LEGOOO! Jack the tortoise get new wheels made out of Lego bricks after being maimed by a garden strimmer

  • Jack's vet came up with the idea after looking in his childhood toy box 
  • Vet Mike Bellamy, from Herefordshire, asked his engineer brother for help
  • The blue and yellow Lego prosthesis was attached in an hour-long surgery 
  • Jack was whizzing around on his new wheel within six hours of getting it 

By Mail on Sunday Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Jack the tortoise has never lived life in the fast lane. But when his back leg was hurt by a garden strimmer, his pace slowed to a standstill.

However, he was given a new lease of life when an inventive vet decided to amputate his damaged leg and replace it with a wheel – made out of Lego.

Mike Bellamy, from Leadon Vale Veterinary Centre in Ledbury, Herefordshire, came up with the idea after delving into his childhood toy box. 

Slow and steady: Jack testing his new leg in the garden 

Slow and steady: Jack testing his new leg in the garden 

‘I spent an hour or so playing with the Lego in there and managed to make up something that I thought would be quite a good prosthesis,’ he said. 

‘We needed something that could be adjusted as the tortoise grows and I thought the easiest thing would be to use Lego blocks. 

'My brother is an engineer for Jaguar Land Rover, so I asked his advice on how to design it.’

Jack was taken to the vet after his owner accidentally caught him with a strimmer while tidying up the lawn.

An X-ray revealed Jack had a broken hind leg, and the blade had also cut into his shell. Initially Mr Bellamy stitched up the limb, hoping it would heal. 

But when the injury failed to improve, the decision was made to amputate.

In an hour-long operation, Jack had his damaged limb removed before the Lego prosthesis was glued to the underside of his shell. And it didn’t take him long to adapt.

‘He was using the wheel within about six hours,’ Mr Bellamy said. 

‘The next morning we got him out and he was scampering around the floor quite happily.’

Vet Mike Bellamy fitted the wheel in an hour-long operation at Leadon Vale Veterinary Centre in Ledbury, Herefordshire

Vet Mike Bellamy fitted the wheel in an hour-long operation at Leadon Vale Veterinary Centre in Ledbury, Herefordshire

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