A MAN kicked his pet rabbit after it bit him on the lip when he tried to give it a kiss.

Neil Roberts, 43, attacked his pet Gizmo after a drinking binge.

The kick to the seven-month-old lionhead rabbit left the animal with a suspected broken leg.

An animal charity boss branded the attack ‘horrific’ and called for Roberts to be banned from keeping animals for life.

Neil Martin, manager at Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, Edenfield, said: “It is abuse.

"If he claimed to love that animal it is a strange act of love.

"He should be banned from keeping pets.”

Roberts, of Rawstorne Street, in the Wensley Fold area of Blackburn, was found guilty of two offences of animal cruelty at Hyndburn Magistrates’ Court.

Chris Wyatt, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said Roberts had failed to take his pet to a vet until two days later.

The court heard how Roberts took Gizmo to Abbeydale Veterinary Centre in Preston New Road on March 11.

He admitted to vet Marie-Therese Begley what had happened and she reported the incident to the animal charity.

RSPCA inspector Andrea Gillet interviewed Roberts, who had a scar from the bite to his face, on March 12.

He said he would have taken Gizmo to the vets earlier but did not have any money to pay for treatment.

Roberts told the officer: “I went to kiss him, first time he was alright, but second time he bit me.

“I lost my rag, I’d had a couple of cans as well, and I lashed out and booted him.

“I regretted it. I felt very bad and woke up my partner and told her.”

Vets found Gizmo’s leg was severely bruised but not broken.

He was confiscated by police, and is now being cared for elsewhere.

Mr Wyatt said the RSPCA wanted Roberts to be disqualified from owning pets.

He added: “He has got a drinking problem and they are worried that when drinking he might do something silly again.”

Evidence was heard in Robert’s absence because he did not turn up to court, after also failing to attend a previous hearing.

Magistrates issued a warrant without bail for his arrest.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph from his home after the hearing, Roberts said he struggled to read court letters and apologised for not attending court.

The unemployed labourer, who lives with his deaf partner, said: “Gizmo bit me and I lashed out and I’m sorry.

“I didn’t realise I did that much damage and when I did I was heartbroken.

“I loved him, he slept near me at night, and since he has been gone we’ve missed him so much.

“I’m devastated. We looked after him, fed him, and he was never kept in a cage.

"I used to take him for walks on a grass verge near us.

“I love animals. I don’t want to be labelled as an animal hater.

“If I could take back time I would go back and I would never do it again.”

He said he accepted that the rabbit would not be returned to him, but said he hoped the courts would not ban him from keeping pets in the future.

He said: “I’ve still got the food and stuff for Gizmo because we would love him back.

“I know that won’t happen so I said to the police ‘please take him to a good home’.”

Lionhead rabbits are common pets that get their name from the mane of fur they have around their neck.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “This rabbit suffered an act of needless cruelty.

“We hope that this case will send the message that this type of violence towards animals is totally unacceptable.”

Anne Mitchell, one of the founding members of the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (RWAF), a charity working to improve the lives of domestic rabbits across the UK, said she could not condone Roberts’ actions.

She said: “I think it is dreadfully sad what has happened, for the rabbit and for him.

“If you suddenly get bit you could react but it is not something I would ever do.

“I cannot condone what he has done but if he really is sorry then he’s not what you would call a really bad person compared to some people.

“But he should be punished and to not take the animal to the vet straight away is very wrong.”