Couple jailed for dangerous dogs

Ricardo Byfield, 27 and Lisa Harvey, 34, pleaded guilty to various counts of owning and breeding a banned dog at Ealing Magistrates' Court.

An earlier hearing revealed that officers raided the couple's home in Northolt, north London, and found 26 dogs kept in cages.

They were also served with a lifetime ban from owning or keeping dogs.

Chairman of the bench Jeffrey Bonn said it was clear both Byfield and Harvey had been actively involved in dog fighting and breeding dogs over a substantial period of time.

Excellent health

"We owe the public the right to be protected from the possibility of these animals escaping and causing harm, which we are in no doubt was a very real possibility," he said.

Some of the dogs found by officers from the Metropolitan Dog Support Unit in November were described as "pit bull royalty" because of their breeding lines, the court heard.

Despite overcrowding, the dogs were kept in clean conditions and many were in excellent health.

A makeshift treadmill was also found in the house, which had probably been used to exercise the dogs and build up their powerful shoulder muscles.

Several of the dogs were marked on their papers as Champion or Grand Champion, meaning they had won between three and five organised dog fights. Many had fighting scars on their head and legs.

An order to destroy 19 pit bull dogs, made by prosecutor Noel Watkins on Monday, was unopposed by their owners and upheld by the court.

Mr Bonn also ordered Byfield to pay £500 court costs and £250 towards the cost of destroying the dogs.

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