By Craig Manning

TWO Wirral children have been left devastated by the theft of a family of five white rabbits, taken from a hutch in their back garden.

Twelve-year-old Sam and ten-year-old Anna Harding-Jones, discovered that Buck, Snowy and their children Sleepy, Chubby and Cheeky had disappeared from the garden of their home in Meols last Sunday

A fence leading into the garden had been broken and there was other damage.

Mum Debbie told the Globe: "Normally, the rabbits can't get out, because they were fenced in and in the hutch. So, they would have had to be physically lifted out. You can't see the hutch from the pavement, because it's hidden from the road."

Debbie is particularly concerned about Snowy, who was receiving eye treatment from a vet before her disappearance and said: "What we're also worried about is that the rabbits could be separated. But as long as they are found good homes and kept together, that is okay.

"I believe there was a spate of dogs and cats going missing before Christmas. But if people have started doing this with rabbits, it's terrible and I would like them to be returned, because the children are missing them."

Debbie has contacted the RSPCA and police to find out whether there have been any other reports of missing rabbits. But so far, there have been no sightings.