Notts rabbit that was left for dead over a year ago now 'thriving' in rescue home

It's been a year since Reacher who was abandoned after fly-tippers dumped a load of household waste on land near Newark and was then rescued by an off-duty officer.

The white lop-eared rabbit who was left to fend for himself when he was thrown out by fly-tippers was spotted by Nottinghamshire Police Inspector Marcus Oldroyd while he was out on a morning run in February 2020.

He was taken to the RSPCA shelter in Radcliffe-on-Trent, where he was named after Operation Reacher – the county’s proactive policing initiative which began in Bestwood during April 2018 to tackle serious and organised crime and was led by Inspector Oldroyd.

The scheme has seen millions of pounds worth of drugs, hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of cash and hundreds of illegal vehicles taken off Nottinghamshire’s streets since it launched, with a number of convictions.

Reacher teams were rolled out across the county on October 5 2020 and the dedicated teams continue to provide proactive policing to all 12 neighbourhood areas.

The force believe the scheme’s initiative is something Reacher the rabbit has shown a lot of while settling into his new home with the Ellis family in Arnold, who took him on and nurtured him to be strong, healthy, and make friends with his rabbit housemate, Honey.

His owner Louise Ellis said: "It's hard to believe that a year has already been past since he was rescued.

"He has definitely come on so much from the underweight and timid rabbit he was when he was found.

"I still find it unbelievable that someone could be so cruel as to just throw him out with the rubbish.

"It was extremely fortunate he was found by Inspector Oldroyd and we're truly thankful.

"He's with us now though and we couldn't be happier to have him in our lives.

"He is doing brilliantly.

"He's so cheeky, inquisitive and still great friends with his housemate, Honey, which is always fantastic news, and he has even put on a bit of 'lockdown' weight."

Inspector Marcus Oldroyd who found the abandoned bunny added: "Reacher rabbit definitely has become a bit of a mascot in the past year and it's amazing to hear that he's thriving and living a wonderful life.

"Given the conditions he was faced with when I found him, it's a real triumph and testament to everyone that has cared for him that he's made it through and gone from strength to strength.

“He was underweight, timid, and had been left in awful conditions when I spotted him on my run.

"It couldn't believe it and it still shocks me that someone could do something like this.

"I feel glad to have been able to have helped him and it's amazing to see, through lots of love and care, that he has been able to become the cheeky character that I'm sure was always in him.”

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