LONDON (AFP) - British police are seeking thieves who bagged the world's largest rabbit named Darius from its owner's garden.

West Mercia Police said they were appealing for information after the brown-and-white bunny disappeared on Saturday (April 10) night from its pen in Stoulton in central England.

Darius, a Continental Giant rabbit, was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's longest living rabbit in 2010, measuring a whopping 129 cm in length.

Its owner, Ms Annette Edwards, tweeted Sunday that it was "a very sad day" and offered a £1,000 (S$1,845) reward for its safe return.

"Darius is too old to breed now. So please bring him back," she said.

Ms Edwards announced in 2018 that Darius, then eight years old, was retiring and giving up public events and media appearances for a quieter life at home. In a previous tragedy for the owner, Darius's 90cm son Simon died on a cross-Atlantic flight in 2010 as it was being transported to a new owner.

It had been expected to eventually outgrow its father.