Pet owners Hampshire have been put alert, as a deadly disease kills off hundreds of wild rabbits.

Residents report that once thriving population of bunnies at Dibden Bay has been reduced to just a few animals.

An outbreak of the highly contagious disease myxomatosis, which can only be caught by rabbits, is the probable cause of the deaths.

The infection often leads to acute conjunctivitis, which makes the animals go blind.

Rabbits who have caught the disease will usually stop eating and die within a fortnight.

Vet Bob Russell, who owns The Pet Healthcare Centre in nearby Hythe, admitted he'd had to put down a pet rabbit because it had the disease.

He said: "Things are pretty bad at the moment.

"We do get outbreaks of myxomatosis every year, but it just tends to be different places that are affected at different times.

"With domestic rabbits, once they've got it, their chances of survival are very slim."

Mr Russell has urged pet owners to get their rabbit vaccinated.