Animal ban is RSPCA case victory

A Shropshire man who beat his heavily pregnant dog with crutches while he was drunk has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

Martin John Lightfoot, from Whitchurch, was also given a three-year conditional discharge, told to hand over his two dogs to the RSPCA and ordered to pay £1,000 compensation and costs after admitting the offences before Market Drayton magistrates at court yesterday.

Animal welfare officials have welcomed the outcome after spending £12,000 to bring the prosecution.

Their comments come almost a year after 36-year-old Lightfoot was seen beating his dog Poppy, a boxer crossbreed, on January 24 last year at Pepper Street, Whitchurch.

Speaking outside court, RSPCA inspector Nayman Dunderdale said: "I'm pleased the magistrates took the case so seriously.

"We're pleased with the 10-year ban on keeping animals and want to thank the witnesses who helped."

Mr Roger Price, prosecuting for the RSPCA, had told the court a witness in the case felt "physically sick and gutted" and was left shaking as she reported the incident to police.

Happier

He told magistrates how Lightfoot was seen beating Poppy "20 to 30 times" in the face and stomach despite previously being warned by the RSPCA over the treatment of his animals in 2007.

He also said officers at Whitchurch Police Station noticed Poppy seemed happier and wagged her tail when she was separated from her owner.

Lightfoot had been due to stand trial yesterday for causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, but he changed his plea to guilty.

His legal team argued that he was battling alcoholism and had not "seriously injured" Poppy in the incident.

Following the case Mr Dunderdale also hit out at Lightfoot for entering a guilty plea so late in the proceedings - allowing the charity's costs to mount up.

"For us it's not a question of the costs because we are prepared to take that on," he said.

"If someone is cruel to animals it's worth the cost to see them get a ban like this one."

Detective Constable Ed Bates, who was a police officer in Whitchurch at the time of the incident, said: "We're very pleased with the outcome of this joint investigation with the RSPCA and we hope it sends a clear message about how we will deal with animal cruelty cases."

Poppy and Maisie, another dog once owned by Lightfoot, remain with the RSPCA which is looking to rehome the pair.

By Tom Johannsen