A MOTHER rabbit and her four babies have been found sheltering under a car in St Albans after being dumped by their owners.

The RSPCA is appealing for information after the rabbits were noticed hiding under a car close to Verulamium Park.

Once spotted by a passer-by on Prae Close, the doe and her babies, known as kits, were caught and confined to a cage, before being handed to the RSPCA.

How the rabbits came to be abandoned remains a mystery, although the RSPCA believe they must have been dumped very close to where they were found.

RSPCA collection officer Kate Wright said: “It isn’t acceptable to just dump animals if you don’t want to look after them any more - domestic rabbits aren’t able to live in the wild after being in captivity so we don’t want people to think that it is somehow okay to just throw rabbits out when you no longer want them.”

The black and tan coloured rabbits have now been taken to the RSPCA’s Middlesex Northwest branch where they are being cared for until they can be rehomed.

Staff at the branch have named the mother rabbit Chive, while the babies, thought to be eight to 12 weeks old, have been named Leek, Onion, Spring and Pickle.

To find out how to rehome an animal from the Middlesex Northwest RSPCA, visit www.rspca-middlesex.org.uk, email info@rspcamiddlesex.org.uk or phone 0208 9669688.

Anyone with information on where the rabbits came from can contact the RSPCA inspector information line on 0300 123 8018.