A herd of rabbits which were abandoned on a roadside have now all been rehomed.

The 10 bunnies were found crammed in cardboard boxes and two pet carriers without any food or water in Dartford on New Year’s Eve.

They were taken into the care of the RSPCA where all but one of the rabbits recovered.

Branch manager for North West Kent Becky Blackmore said: "Sadly, one of the rabbits did not make it. When you consider they spent New Year's Eve in a couple of cardboard boxes whilst fireworks went off and people celebrated the New Year it is surprising that nine of them were safely found by a member of the public in the morning.

"They have now all recovered. The last one has just gone to her lovely new home."

Among those found on the roadside in Sandringham Drive was a black female the RSPCA named Raven, Harvey – who is believed to be the father of the youngsters Rosie, Roxy, Romy, Eric and Ernie – as well as two adult males, Dave and Ginger.

Although described as a "happy ending", Becky hopes this will be a "useful lesson in the need to get pet rabbits neutered."

She added: "Lots of people acquired rabbits as lockdown pets and are now getting rid of them. This is partly because rabbits can be hard to sex and if un-neutered rabbits are together then the patter of baby rabbit feet will soon follow.

"It is no myth about 'breeding like rabbits'. When we rescue groups of abandoned rabbits, a mother with very young babies will usually already be pregnant again.

"This means we can have to care for mum and two litters of babies for months until everyone is old enough to be neutered and rehomed."

Since rescuing the 10 rabbits on New Year's Day, the branch has saved another 40 from the Dartford and Gravesend area, many of which were "accidental" newborns.

The RSPCA has seen a rise in abandoned rabbits this year and in March said it has been "overwhelmed" with unwanted bunnies.

In 2020, 672 rabbits came into the charity's care, and during 2021, 859 were taken in – an increase of 28%. By mid-February this year, 88 had already been taken in across the country.

This is also coupled with a decrease in the number of people wanting to rehome the pets, according to the animal welfare experts.

The RSPCA has 150 rabbits waiting for new homes and more than 100 more being cared for. You can find RSPCA rabbits near to you here.

Charity officers did launch an investigation into the Sandringham Drive incident at the time but did not receive any information about where the rabbits came from.