As a thief rifled through cupboards in the victim's home, the noise they made woke up Toby the family's British Giant bunny in his kitchen cage.
The 4.5kg, two-feet long pet began stomping so loudly on the floor that the intruder was caught on the hop and left.
Kimberley said: "We went to bed on Wednesday at about 10pm. In the early hours of the morning Toby our rabbit did five loud thumps.
"I sort of half woke up then realised he'd stopped and went back to sleep.
"When I went downstairs every single cupboard and drawer were open, there were bits out everywhere, then we started noticing things were missing and we phoned the police."
Kimberley, a nurse, is convinced that two year-old Toby's thumping scared the thief off from their house in Plymouth, Devon.
She found a hoard of items left piled up on the sofa which she thinks the burglar was preparing to take but left behind.
She added: "Because of Christmas and my birthday just gone, I had loads of gift sets and perfumes that they'd laid out across the sofa.
"We think that when the rabbit thumped it scared the burglar off and they left all the stuff they were going to take.
"He's like a little dog, if you whistle him he comes.
"The rabbit was just traumatised in his cage, shaking. He's usually really friendly but he tried to go for the policeman."
The crook still managed to get away with other valuables including a treasured First World War medal that belonged to Kimberley's great-grandad.
- Telegraph
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