Eighteen baby rabbits have all died after being abandoned in a box in Wrexham.

Schoolchildren discovered the box on the night of Friday, June 14, under a tree near West Circle.

RSPCA inspector Kia Thomas said a report came in on Saturday after they were kindly taken home by the caller.

She said: "This is a very sad and shocking incident where 18 bunnies were found abandoned in a box under a tree.

"They were left to fend for themselves and were found by some children.

"Sadly, four of the rabbits - which were all different colours - died very shortly after they were found with the others found to be very are unwell with deformities.”

Inspector Thomas added that vets also made the decision that seven of the rabbits needed to be put to sleep to prevent further suffering.

Further tragedy came when sadly the remaining seven rabbits died as a consequence of their condition.

She said: "Tragically all of these bunnies have now died.

"We don’t know the causes of death, but they were clearly unwell with deformities and being abandoned away from their mother may have played a part.

“We will never truly know why people abandon animals. Our experience tells us that it could be down to a number of reasons, for example when owners are unable to cope whether that be with an animal’s behaviour, the costs of keeping the pet or other things in their life take over they opt to dump them.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the RSPCA inspectorate appeal line on 0300 123 8018.