A PET owner has been left devastated after vile arsonists set fire to her rabbit and left it to die in her garden.Angela Thurkettle, of Bonnington Avenue, Ipswich, said she was horrified by the crime and could not believe anyone could be so heartless as to target helpless one-year-old Toffee.

A PET owner has been left devastated after vile arsonists set fire to her rabbit and left it to die in her garden.

Angela Thurkettle, of Bonnington Avenue, Ipswich, said she was horrified by the crime and could not believe anyone could be so heartless as to target helpless one-year-old Toffee.

Police are appealing for information about the crime which happened within days of Miss Thurkettle's aunt and uncle also being targeted by arsonists.

It is believed Toffee, a black and white rabbit, was taken out of the hutch and set alight before then being put back in.

Miss Thurkettle said: “On September 3, I went out in my front garden in the morning and I found a mattress there which had been burned.

“I didn't go in my (back) garden until about noon to put out some washing and I thought Toffee had made a mess in his cage as he used to do that but then I realised he had been burned.

“I was totally horrified.

“When the police came they said to bury him but I was too upset to touch him.”

Officers took Toffee's remains away to dispose of them for her.

In a chilling co-incidence, Miss Thurkettle's aunt and uncle, Louise and Marty Girling, were also targeted by arsonists when their boat which was on the driveway of their home in Fletcher Road, Ipswich, was set alight.

The blaze then spread to a nearby Ford Mondeo and the couple and their two children, Georgina, 12, and 10-year-old Aaron were only saved thanks to the heroics of a passing motorist and their neighbour who woke them up.

The family were all asleep when the drama started in the early hours of September 5.

Miss Thurkettle said she had been left too upset to go into her garden since the death of her rabbit and needed help from Victim Support.

She said: “It makes me feel sick. He didn't really like being outside and I was going to bring him into the house for the winter but now its too late.”

Ipswich Police are continuing to investigate the incident, which happened overnight between September 2 and 3, and have appealed for anyone with information to contact Pc Chris Chaplin at Ipswich Police Station on 01473 613500.

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