An inmate at a notoriously lax open jail was caught

An inmate at a notoriously lax open jail was caught trying to smuggle a rabbit inside to keep as a pet.

The prisoner at Hollesley Bay open prison in Woodbridge, Suffolk, is thought to have found the animal while outside on day release.

He was able to bring the rabbit back inside the prison - nicknamed Holiday Bay because its laid-back regime - where convicts managed to build it a hutch and started treating it as a prison pet.

Lax: The prisoner was able to bring a rabbit back inside Hollesley Bay open prison in Suffolk - nicknamed Holiday Bay by inmates

Prison wardens eventually found and confiscated the rabbit, then gave it to a rescue centre.

The inmate is thought to have found the rabbit roaming wild, as opposed to taking it from a previous owner. It is unclear whether the pet was kept in one prisoner's room or elsewhere in the jail.

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The rabbit fiasco is the latest in a string of embarrassments for Hollesley Bay, which last week the target of a bizarre theft.

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+1 Low security: The jail in Suffolk is mocked by inmates because of its lax regime

An audacious thief broke into the jail, slipping through a skylight to steal £3,000 of tobacco meant to be sold to inmates.  

The cache was stolen from the prison's main storeroom in a late-night raid before it could be sold to convicts. Police hunting the culprits are understood to have found a shoe print near the scene.

The tobacco was taken between 4.30pm on Monday, June 16 and 8am on Tuesday, June 17.

Suffolk Police said up to 300 packets were taken.

A prison spokesman said: 'Earlier this month a quantity of tobacco products was stolen from HMP Hollesley Bay. This is now a matter for the police.'

New inmate: A prisoner at HMP Hollesley Bay brought a rabbit inside the prison as a pet - and built it a hutch