Three guilty of cruelty to dogs

Lenny was found collapsed but alive at the house by the RSPCA

Three people from Telford have pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs, one of which died.

RSPCA inspectors called at a house in Dawley, Shropshire, in August last year to find one of the dogs close to death while another was buried in the garden.

Wayne Jackson, 24, his partner Joanne Phillips, 32, and his brother Darren Jackson, 22, all of Web Crescent, could face jail, Telford magistrates said.

The three pleaded guilty to causing suffering to two bull terriers.

A two-year-old Staffordshire bull terrier called Lenny was found in a severely emaciated condition by an RSPCA inspector, Telford Magistrates' Court heard.

A vet later described him as "looking like bones covered in skin" and 30% lighter than he should have been.

The accused accepted they were guilty of not taking the dogs to the vet, but had been ignorant rather than cruel.

Magistrates warned them they could face prison and a five-year ban on keeping dogs when they return to court to be sentenced on 7 April.