Rabbit neglected

Emma Webster, 29, had failed to regularly provide the animal with adequate food and fresh water at the address in Welbeck Street.

She appeared before Chesterfield magistrates and admitted a charge of failing to ensure the welfare of a female rabbit named Smokie between December and January. The court heard that she failed to attend two meetings with the probation service following previous court appearances.

“On the first occasion she was unwell and on the second she was too drunk to get out of bed,” said Felicity Clarke, defending. She told the court that Webster, now of Derby, drank six litres of cider a day and all her offending history was related to alcohol abuse.

Presiding magistrate Tim Norton said: “She won’t be drinking six litres of cider a day in prison.”

The bench adjourned sentence until 25th June.