Man distraught at theft of his topiary rabbit

A callous thief has stolen a man's prized rabbit-shaped topiary from his garden in Southend, Essex. Doug Hoare was devastated to find the rabbit-shaped plant he’s nurtured for the past six years had been stolen.

Doug said: “I woke up and it was gone. I felt quite upset, and I called my sister, my mate and my girlfriend to tell them.” Doug says he put a lot of time and effort into shaping the plant, which was a key feature in his front garden.



He said: “I’ve had it for a good six years. It taken ages to grow these things and trim them. You have to buy a wire frame and let it grow, and every time it pokes through the frame, you trim it. It’s a lot of hard work that goes into it, so I’m not happy.

“I chose a rabbit because it’s a good shape and I like rabbits.” Doug has put a toy rabbit in place of his leafy garden chum and says he’s hopeful about being reunited with it. He said: “It was my one and only rabbit. I’ve replaced it with a little toy rabbit for now, but I’m hoping to get the real thing back!”