TWO baby rabbits have been found after being dumped in a household electricals recycling bin in Winton.

Dave Bedford, 59, from Southbourne, was at work for W&M, when he unlocked the bin, situated in the recycling bank on Cranmer Road, before it was emptied into the lorry, at around noon last Monday.

To his surprise, at the bottom of the bin were two six to eight-week-old grey and white coloured bunnies.

He immediately phoned his boss and then called his wife, Lyn, 57, to bring a box to take them to the vets.

Lyn, a care assistant, said: “It frightened him because Dave wasn’t expecting some little eyes to be staring back at him.

“The bins are the type that you just post the electrical item through rather than lift the lid, so the person would have known what they were doing and the rabbits could only be rescued by someone with a key.

“They were absolutely covered with fleas and looked distressed and very nervous.

“No animal should have that done to them.

“Even if the owners were desperate, they should have dumped them at a rescue centre or vets, which I know are all full at the moment but it’s better than leaving them to meet their fate.”

The bunnies are now being temporarily looked after by Fiona Prentice, who works for the Ark Aid Veterinary Surgery, where the rabbits were taken, before they are well enough to be re-homed.

Fiona said: “They were hungry and are very bony and covered top to bottom in cat fleas. What people don’t realise is that the fleas can transmit myxomatosis, and I doubt that these rabbits have been vaccinated against it.

“They are both boys, and I believe that they are French lop rabbits, although I can’t tell until they are a bit older.

“I’m looking to rehome them rather than find their original owners, as quite honestly, they should be locked up.

“I have 11 rabbits to look after at the moment because all the rescue centres are full and this kind of thing is getting more and more common.

“However, it still shocks me now, every time one of these kind of stories surfaces.”