A Carshalton woman was stunned when she found someone had dumped a baby ferret and a baby rabbit on her drive last week.

Diana Shanahan was at home in Westmead Road when one of her neighbours came to tell her there was a box containing the young animals on her doorstep last Thursday.

Although both the animals have now been rescued, mystery still shrouds how they ended up on the 74-year-old's drive in the first place.

Mrs Shanahan said: "A neighbour came and rang my doorbell and said 'do you know there are animals on the end of your drive?'.

"I had a look and there was a cage, about 3ft long and 2ft wide with a little baby rabbit and a baby ferret.

"The children were all on their way home from school and they were all looking at it.

"They had food but it was in packets and water bottles but they couldn't get to it.

"I don't know how they got there. I'm an old lady, I don't want a baby rabbit and a baby ferret."

Mrs Shanahan called the Riverside Animal Rescue centre in Beddington Park but was told it does not take small domestic animals so eventually she managed to find other rescue centres to take them.

She added: "I don't know why they would have been dumped like that.

"I think maybe someone was supposed to be delivering them somewhere and they made a smell in the van so they were dumped."

Do you know where the animals came from? Contact reporter Mike Pyle on 020 8722 6359 or email mike.pyle@london.newsquest.co.uk.