‘World’s biggest rabbit’ stolen from owner’s garden

Darius, the world’s biggest rabbit was found missing from his owner’s home in Stoulton, Worcestershire

(West Mercia Police)

An award-winning rabbit, believed to be the world’s largest, has gone missing from its owner’s home and is thought to have been stolen.

Darius the rabbit, a Guinness world record holder for being the biggest of its kind, went missing from its owner’s home in Stoulton, Worcestershire, on Saturday night.

Annette Edwards, the owner of the continental giant rabbit, said she discovered Darius was missing on Sunday morning and contacted the police.

She has offered a £1,000 reward for its return and took to Twitter to plead to those who took Darius to "please bring him back."

“A very sad day. Guinness world record Darius has been stolen from his home,” Ms Edwards, who is a former Playboy model, wrote. The police are doing their best to find out who has taken him.”

She also said that Darius is too old to breed.

Darius became a celebrity overnight and made several television appearances after it was declared the world’s longest rabbit in 2010. It is 129cm or 4ft 2in long.

“Every animal is an individual that can’t be replaced, and it’s just so upsetting because he is such a loveable character,” Ms Edwards was quoted byThe Telegraph as saying. “He is a very fit bunny for his age and up until a couple of years ago he was doing appearances all over the country.”

“As he’s got older, he’s on a special diet instead of the normal food he used to be on, and without that special diet he will die,” the 69-year-old said.

In a statement, West Mercia Police said: “We are appealing for information following the theft of an award-winning rabbit from its home in Stoulton, Worcestershire.”

“It is believed the Continental Giant rabbit was stolen from its enclosure in the garden of the property of its owners overnight on Saturday. The rabbit is quite unique in the fact it is 4ft in size and has been awarded a Guinness Record for being the biggest rabbit in the world,” it said.

They have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Pc Daren Riley on 101 quoting reference 00286-I-11042021.