Care assistant left starving dog

Elmo is now looking for a new home

A woman has been banned from keeping dogs for life after she left her pet dog tied up outside, covered in sores and starving, a court has heard.

Care assistant Kirsty Badlan's bulldog, Elmo, weighed half what he should have done when the RSPCA rescued him from her home in Queensway in Hereford.

The 20-year-old was given a three-year conditional discharge after admitting causing unnecessary suffering.

The RSPCA was contacted by a worried neighbour, Hereford magistrates heard.

Elmo has since recovered and needs a new home, the charity said.

"Animals are incredible, I've found over many years, for being able to recover and he has fully, physically recovered from that," said officer Alan Janes.

"He is doing very well. He's bouncing around and all his sores that he had have healed and he's fighting fit."