Escaped rabbit found in car engine

A Nottingham woman had the surprise of her life when she found a pet rabbit inside her car engine. Unbeknown to Anita Smith, the black-and-white rabbit had been curled up in her engine throughout the drive from her home in Clifton to a garage in Keyworth.

And it may have been in there for several days as she drove to and from her work in Widmerpool. Anita took the Vauxhall Corsa to the garage after it started suffering problems with the heating, but was amazed to discover what the real problem was.

The mechanic told her to look away after spotting what he thought was a dead cat, but to their amazement Tallulah the rabbit emerged, completely unscathed. "I was in shock," said Anita. "When they undid the screws and the guard at the front this black-and-white rabbit came out."



Further down Anita's street, neighbour Susan Minns had been preparing to tell her friends that the pet rabbit she had been looking after had escaped. "It should be renamed Lucky," said Susan. "I just thought thank God. My friends won't believe me when I tell them."

RSPCA spokesman Andy Robbins said: "Tallulah is a very lucky rabbit to have been found when she was. Rabbits are very curious, but also timid animals and it is likely that Tallulah climbed under the bonnet for shelter and to hide from potential predators.

"It is not uncommon for animals such as cats and rabbits to hide under car bonnets when looking for shelter, although they would usually try to escape once the engine was started."