Sick yobs trampled three baby pet rabbits to death in a savage attack.

The disabled owner discovered the animals - kept as part of his rehabilitation from a stroke - at his allotment plot in Wigan on Monday morning.

He had been at the site, behind Warrington Road and Poolstock Lane, on Sunday, October 27, but returned to find the rabbit hutch trashed and the baby animals dead.

Adult rabbits he keeps had also been stamped on but managed to survive.

An investigation has also been launched after the side of a shed on the plot was set on fire, sometime between Friday, October 18 and Friday, October 25 and police believe the incidents could be linked.

PC Wendy Potter said: "We will do all we can to find out who carried out the savage act of killing these baby rabbits, but we would also want to ask why.

"The man is devastated by these events, which I have no doubt will sicken members of our community.

"He has recently suffered a stroke and tending to his rabbits and plot is his main pastime.

"These two incidents have left this man feeling even more vulnerable and he is starting to wonder whether he is being targeted for some reason.

"He cannot understand why this is happening to him and we have been both trying to support him and make him feel safe, as well as getting to the bottom of what has happened.

"Keeping people safe, especially the vulnerable, is a key objective of Greater Manchester Police."

Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 7124 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.