CRUEL thieves who stole a boy's pet rabbit decided to give it the home comforts it was used to ... and returned to steal the hutch.

The double strike was just part of a catalogue of thefts which have devastated schoolboy Barry Rideout.

Unlucky BEN delivery boy Barry, aged 13, has been the victim of FIVE thefts during the last six months.

Today his angry mother Jill said: "I don't know why he's been on the receiving end of all this, but he's had a really tough time of it.

"To take the rabbit was bad enough, but then to come back for the hutch was downright cheeky."

Barry's misery began when his bike was stolen outside Woods newsagents in Market Street, Westhoughton, just before Christmas.

Then thieves made their double strike on the rabbit and its hutch. Those thefts also left Barry's nine-year-old sister Laura heartbroken.

In the latest attack thieves broke into the family's garden shed at Chorley Road, Westhoughton. They ignored a burglar alarm which they triggered and stole Barry's new bike, which he bought after saving his paper round money.

To complete the misery they also grabbed his Liverpool football kit from the washing line.

Mrs Rideout said: "We heard the alarm, but by the time we got out there they had gone. They'd left all the other washing, but took Barry's kit - he's really been a victim.

"I just hope we can get the bike back somehow. He needs it for his paper rounds."

Anyone with information about the dark blue Raleigh mountain bike, which is adult sized and had a black leather saddle, should call Mrs Rideout on 01942 810740.

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