A PET rabbit was quickly reunited with its owners after they disturbed a thief who tried to grab it from its hutch.

Owner Keith Muggeridge woke to see a youth snatch Alfie from its home in Spindle Close, York, in the early hours.

But the thief dropped the animal as he ran off, and Alfie was quickly reunited with Keith's four-year-old daughter, Becky.

The attempted theft is the latest in a recent spate in York.

Earlier this month, six-year-old Marie Neilson, of Acomb, was reunited with her pet, Smoky, after it was found in a garden more than a mile away. Another was taken from Fulford last week.

Mr Muggeridge's wife, Lynn, said: "Becky would have been devastated. She talks and plays with him all the time."