ANIMAL charity officials are warning pet owners to be vigilant following a spate of thefts.

Grandmother Barbara Platt, aged 55, was shocked when she discovered her pet rabbit, Wallace, had been snatched from his hutch.

Mrs Platt, of Smethurst Lane, Morris Green, said she was distraught when she went to feed black and white Wallace, given as an Easter present by her sons six years ago.

She said: "He had just vanished. I knew someone had taken him. The lid on his hutch is very heavy so there is no way he could have escaped by himself.

"I don't think there is any way he will survive alone and I doubt whoever has taken him will be looking after him. It is very sad."

She added: "My three-year-old grandson George loves to play with him and I dreaded having to tell him what had happened."

The theft is the latest in a spate of pet snatches in the borough.

A number of cats have vanished from the Horwich and Farnworth areas and residents fear they are being taken from the streets and sold.

Kathy Kay, spokesman for the Bolton branch of the RSPCA, said: "It is worrying. A lot of the cats that have gone missing seem to be tabbies and now a rabbit has gone. It just makes you wonder what they are being taken for."

She added: "I urge people to keep an eye on their pets and to make sure they are only let out when they are at home. People need to be locking their side gates and being extra careful.

"Residents should make the most of neighbourhood watch schemes and get neighbours to be nosey."

"At the moment we need as much help from the general public as possible."

Anyone with information should call the Bolton branch of the RSPCA on Bolton 521160.