This is the adorable moment a pet tortoise pushed a gate open to escape – before his frantic owner carried him back inside.

The male African spurred tortoise named Plawaan nudged the sliding metal barrier with its head sending it rolling along the tracks outside the home in Nonthaburi, Thailand, on August 4.

Sensing that freedom was within reach, clever four-year-old Plawaan made a daring dash across the road outside.

However, the animal’s escape was thwarted when neihbours saw him wandering across the road and alerted the owner Looknam Sakaw, who came running outside.

CCTV footage from the detached home shows Plawaan’s escape before Looknam, a full time model, rushed outside and carried him back to the garden where he roams freely.

Looknam posted the video on TikTok where it was viewed millions of times around the world - with people commmenting on the tortoise's adorable animal antics.

Looknam said: ‘The day before the incident, I had the grass cut. My turtle would normally walk around the garden and eat the grass. On that day I put less food for my turtle, I think it must have made him angry. When my turtles are angry, they become very strong. They have double the strength. So that day he was so angry he pulled the gate open to find food outside.

‘This turtle knows how the gate works, he knows that pushing the gate to the right and walking out on the left will let him free. This is not the first time he’s been caught escaping, I had neighbors informing me multiple times about my turtle exiting through the gate. Everybody in my street knows that I have a pet turtle.’