[div class="mainphoto chunk"][h1] Bigs bunny: monster rabbit devours English veggie plots[/h1]LONDON (AFP) - In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a suspected monster rabbit. [/p] Leeks, Japanese onions, parsnips and spring carrots have all been ripped up and devoured by the mystery were-rabbit -- prompting the 12 allotment holders in Felton, north of Newcastle, to hire two marksmen with air rifles and orders to shoot to kill.[/p] "It is a massive thing. It is a monster. The first time I saw it, I said: 'What the hell is that?'" the Northumberland Gazette newspaper quoted local resident Jeff Smith, 63, as saying on its website (www.northumberlandtoday.co.uk).[/p] He claims to have seen the black and brown rabbit -- with one ear bigger than the other -- about two months ago, and at least three fellow allotment holders say they have seen it as well.[/p] "I have seen it and it is bigger than a normal rabbit. It's eating all our crops and we grow the best stuff here," said retired miner George Brown, 76, quoted by the domestic Press Association news agency.[/p] [a href="vny!://news.yahoo.com/photo/060407/photos_od_afp/16cb250292f67925f8d748ea9a1e0094;_ylt=Auljcbuinc_6WCSYaYR03XqhOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-" onclick="openSS(this.href);return false;"][img]vny!://us.news3.yimg.com/us.i2.yimg.com/p/afp/20060407/capt.sge.hao09.070406152144.photo00.photo.default-210x384.jpg?x=180&y=329&sig=.1O6qFZpBa9WdakIIHid7g--" alt="German rabbit breeder Karl Szmolinsky presents his giant male breeding rabbit 'Robert' in Eberswalde, eastern Germany, February 2006. In a tale reminiscent of the last Wallace and Gromit movie, furious villagers in northeast England have hired armed guards to protect their beloved communal vegetable gardens from a suspected monster rabbit.(AFP/File/Michael Urban)" border="0" height="329" width="180"] [/a] [/p][div class="source"][font size="1"][a href="vny!://news.yahoo.com/photo/060407/photos_od_afp/16cb250292f67925f8d748ea9a1e0094;_ylt=AhO6TaHAGQW_duPVGpiaunShOrgF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-" onclick="openSS(this.href);return false;"]AFP/File Photo:[/a] German rabbit breeder Karl
Szmolinsky presents his giant male breeding
rabbit 'Robert' in Eberswalde.[/font] [/div] Smith could not be reached for comment Friday, but his mother told AFP that the hare-raising story is true -- and no less an authority than the British Rabbit Council said it was credible.[/p] "Certain breeds do grow very big, like the Continental Giant" which can be 66 centimetres (26 inches) in length or more, a spokesman for the Nottinghamshire-based council, which represent rabbit breeders, told AFP.[/p] In the last hit movie featuring Wallace and his dog Gromit, the two cartoon characters battled a monster rabbit that was cutting a swathe of destruction through locals' prize vegetable plots.[/p] [/div]
