A hawk used to scare away pigeons at the Wimbledon tennis championships has been stolen, police say.

The harrier hawk named Rufus went missing from his cage sometime overnight from Thursday to Friday, the BBC reports.

Rufus is a family pet and the owners are "distressed" over his disappearance.

There is now a Twitter campaign, with people using the hashtag #findrufus.

The bird's handlers also run a Twitter account in the bird's name.

"No news yet, but we must be hopeful," Rufus The Hawk tweeted Saturday. Rufus also has a Facebook page.

The bird has been used to patrol the skies over Wimbledon, Westminster Abbey and events in England.

Owner and handler Imogen Davies told the BBC she just wants to know Rufus is OK.

The four-year-old bird had been left in the car because Davies was commuting back and forth to the tournament.