RABBIT breeder Alan Belgian showed off his prize asset yesterday.

Eight-month-old silver rabbit Findon Donny Boy won Best in Show at the Bradford Championship Show, the UK's leading competition for the animals.

Mr Belgian, of Witton Gilbert, near Durham City, said: "I am delighted with the trophy. This is the one you dream about winning.

"What catches people's eyes with this one is the type. Only four silvers have won the Bradford in the last 40 years.

"He is a big, bold rabbit, and he has a good coat and colour."

He beat competition from 5,000 other rabbits to clinch the trophy at the contest, held in Doncaster and sponsored by food manufacturer Burgess Supa Rabbit.

Mr Belgian, 65, has been breeding rabbits for more than 50 years.

"I started when I was a boy and was entering shows within a few years," he said.

It is a fifth major honour for Findon Donny Boy and another victory for Mr Belgian, who also won Best in Show at the Great Yorkshire Show last year, with another of his dozen rabbits.

But his latest impressive trophy will not be on display in the home he shares with his wife, Sandra.

"I've got quite a few now and they are just too big," he said. "This one will go with the rest, in a box in the loft."