Lucky to be alive: The bunny torched in his hutch by drunk woman during family argument

Bunny the rabbit is a sorry sight after his owner's sister set light to his hutch during a family row



Katey Barber set fire to her sister's rabbit hutch, leaving poor Bunny charred and blistered



The charred hutch shows the extent to which the fire took hold after a burning piece of paper was thrown in

Cowering in fear, his fur scorched, this is a traumatised rabbit just minutes after a heartless yob set him alight.

He was left badly burned and blistered when Katey Barber torched his hutch after drinking seven cans of lager.

The 22-year-old had been burning clothes belonging to her mother's partner in the garden before turning her attention to the rabbit.
She prodded the terrified animal with a stick before throwing a burning piece of paper into its hutch and shutting the door.

When friends and family tried to intervene Barber swore at them and locked them inside the house.

Barber was then seen laughing and said: 'Look, the rabbit's running around on fire,' before eventually pouring water on the animal to put out the flames.

Vets who examined the rabbit, named Bunny, said he could be permanently scarred by the attack, which happened last September. He may need to have part of one ear amputated and has been left terrified of any human contact.

Stockport magistrates heard the attack happened while Barber was staying at her mother's home in Cheadle Heath, Stockport.

Her mother and her boyfriend were away on holiday with Barber's sister, Rachel, the rabbit's owner.

Dominic Geelan, prosecuting, said two children were asleep upstairs when the attack began. After burning her mother's partner's clothes 'in a round drum, pouring turps on them and setting them alight', Barber set the hutch on fire, Mr Geelan said.

When others tried to stop her they were 'met with expletives', he added.

Barber, of Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal when she appeared in court last Friday.

She could be jailed for up to six months, or face up to a £20,000 fine, when she is sentenced on Tuesday.