How did they get in there? Scarborough builders discover nest of baby bunnies in bag of sand

A litter of four newborn bunnies have been rescued after being found nesting in a bag of sand.

The RSPCA was contacted by a team of builders in Scarborough on Thursday morning (10 March).

They were working on the seafront when they opened a newly delivered bag of sand and discovered the kits.

They were rushed to an 'experienced wildlife rehabilitator' after RSPCA officers raised concerns they were too young to survive outside their mother's burrow.

"We believe the rabbits, who still have their eyes shut, are around 12-14 days old," said Beth Boyd, the RSPCA inspector who went to collect the kits.

"We don’t know where the bags had come from or how long the babies had been without their mum so we rushed them to an experienced wildlife rehabilitator."

A mother rabbit closes her kittens into a burrow, returning to nurse about once a day.

Kittens will start to emerge from the burrow at about 18 days, by which point they look like miniature adults.

If they're found above ground with their eyes closed then something has dug them out of the burrow - in which case they'll be too young to survive.

The rehabilitator is now hand-rearing the bunnies to eventually release them back into the wild.

"She tells me that they’re doing really well and are happily guzzling a specialist milk substitute so that’s wonderful news."