Two terrapins were saved from starvation by police who found them abandoned.

The reptiles were discovered at a house in Loraine Road, Holloway, by the Highbury West Safer Neighbourhood Team, which was assisting the housing association to secure the unoccupied house.

Pc Martin Evans said that he noticed the two terrapins looking lethargic in a dirty tank with no food, light or air.

After seeking advice from the RSPCA, they were taken to a veterinary clinic before being moved on to a specialist centre.

Pc Evans said: “It was clear that if we hadn’t gone in when we did, these animals would have died.

“This is not the usual kind of situation I come across in my job but I am glad that I was in a position to help them.”

Veterinary nurse Jaci Devany, of Abbey Veterinary Clinic in Stamford Hill, said: “When they arrived they were in a pretty poor condition. They had been in a container that you would find at the bottom of a fridge as that was the only way of transporting them.

“It’s impossible to say how long they would have lived for without being found, but without any food they would have died.”

She said that it’s not rare to find terrapins abandoned as they can be bought the size of a 50pence piece but grow to the size of tortoises and people are unable to cope.