This is Plymouth --A FAMILY has told how their huge pet rabbit scared off a burglar - by thumping its massive feet on the floor.
Two-year-old Toby had only been a with the May family for a couple of weeks when their house was broken into. His owners believe that the burglar was scared off thanks to the British Giant stomping his feet on his indoor cage.
However thieves still made off with items from the family's home including a WWI medal and invitations and gifts for the couples upcoming wedding.
Kimberley May, a staff nurse at Derriford Hospital said: "We went to bed on Wednesday at about 10pm. In the early hours of the morning Toby our rabbit did five loud thumps. I sort of half woke up then realised he'd stopped and went back to sleep.
"My partner went downstairs at 7am the next morning and came up and said 'Have you been downstairs during the night?"
"I said 'No, why?' and he said 'Everything's open'."
Kimberley, her partner Martin and three-year-old Olivia live in the terraced house at Admiralty Cottages, Stonehouse.
Kimberley added: "When I went downstairs every single cupboard and drawer were open, there were bits out everywhere, then we started noticing things were missing and we phoned the police. The rabbit was just traumatised in his cage, shaking. He's usually really friendly but he tried to go for the policeman."
Weighing in at 4.5kg, Toby is nearly two feet long and 10 inches tall.
"He's like a little dog, if you whistle him he comes," said Kimberley.
"Because of Christmas and my birthday just gone, I had loads of gift sets and perfumes that they'd laid out across the sofa.
"We think that when the rabbit thumped it scared the burglar off and they left all the stuff they were going to take.
"They managed to take a laptop, an iPad and my handbag with my purse and everything in, but the worse thing was my great granddad's medal."
The medal was a World War One Kings Liverpool Regiment medal belonging to Kimberley's great granddad, Henry Godwin Porter. It is silver and is inscribed with his name and regiment.
Kimberley said: "My gran actually died in 2007, she lived in a council house all her life, hardly had any possessions.
"That was the one thing important thing she had.
"It was kept next to a photo of me and my grandma when I was little which got taken as well."
Kimberly and Martin are due to get married on 30 August at St Mary's Church in Plympton. She added: "They also took a box which had all our wedding invitations and favours in it, as well as paperwork which I was due to give to the church and reception venue.
"I've had to go to the library to get proof that I used to live in Plympton so I can get married at the church – they just don't think about the impact it has to take things like that."
The family have been left shaken up by the incident, but said that it was comforting knowing Toby would warn them of intruders.
Kimberley said: "When I went downstairs for the first time my heart just dropped and it was really quite scary.
"Since then it doesn't feel like home at all, everything the burglar's touched I've bleached.
"I keep shutting the bolts during the day even when I'm here."
"I don't sleep much at night because I'm listening to every noise, but if I've heard creaking I have thought, well the rabbits not thumping so it must be nothing."
PC David Walters, who was one of the first officers on the scene the next day, said: "They had the rabbit in the kitchen and mentioned that he was making a noise during the night.
"But there was nothing to say the burglar was definitely scared off."
DC Nick Bloom added: "We believe the family was burgled between 10.30pm on Wednesday February 6 and 7am on Thursday February 7."
"The police are asking for any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward."
If anyone has any information about the incident they should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111 quoting log number 95 of February 7.
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