Tag Archives: Redcar and Cleveland

Animal Abandonment, Dogs, Worst of the Worst

Redcar, North Yorkshire: Daniel Hewitt

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CONVICTED (2023) | Daniel Hewitt, born 20 July 1998, of 32 Westfield Court, Redcar TS10 5QZ – left a dog to starve in a faeces-strewn cage.

Animal abuser Daniel Hewitt from Redcar, North Yorkshire, UK. Image: Facebook

Hewitt, who also uses his dogs to kill wildlife, was prosecuted in relation to a severely malnourished lurcher, described by an RSPCA inspector as a ‘walking skeleton’.

Flossy was starved and neglected by callous Daniel Hewitt from Redcar, North Yorkshire

The dog, known as Flossy, weighed just 11.6kg – less than half her expected body weight – after she was inadequately fed for at least six weeks.

Flossy was starved and neglected by callous Daniel Hewitt from Redcar, North Yorkshire

She had overgrown nails, a wound to her leg, sores on her hips, and was given a body score condition of only one out of five by a vet.

Hewitt admitted causing unnecessary suffering to Flossy by failing to address the cause of her poor body condition and weight loss.

Image taken by Flossy's rescuer, who has kept her, shows he filthy conditions in which the dog was kept by Daniel Hewitt
Image taken by Flossy’s rescuer, who has kept her, shows he filthy conditions in which the dog was kept

The court heard how Hewitt kept Flossy at a flat in Cedarhurst Drive, Lingdale, Saltburn-by-the-Sea but moved out to live with his mother, Karen Bennison, who stayed in the same road. Flossy was left behind to starve in squalor but was rescued from certain death by a concerned member of the public.

The court heard that Hewitt continued to return to the flat and had been fully aware of Flossy’s deteriorating condition.

Flossy was starved and neglected by callous Daniel Hewitt from Redcar, North Yorkshire

RSPCA inspector Garry Palmer, who investigated the case, took Flossy for immediate veterinary treatment after visiting the home she had been taken to.

The court heard that numerous attempts were then made to interview Hewitt about the situation but they were unsuccessful.

The veterinary surgeon who examined the lurcher, said: “At the time of examination, Flossy was suffering from malnutrition and I believe this would have been apparent to any reasonably competent adult.

“She weighed 11.6kg (25.57 pounds), whereas I would expect an otherwise healthy female, young adult lurcher to weigh approximately 25/30kg (55.1 – 66.1 pounds).

“Flossy gained significant body weight simply through receiving adequate nutrition once removed from the household. It is my opinion that the weight loss was a chronic process lasting no less than six weeks though likely longer. I believe this dog was caused unnecessary suffering by the person responsible for her.”

Flossy was starved and neglected by callous Daniel Hewitt from Redcar, North Yorkshire

The pre-sentence report noted that Hewitt spent £10 a day on cannabis, but said he couldn’t afford to feed himself or Flossy.

Magistrates said they considered the offence had crossed the threshold for custody but recognised that the defendant had already spent 35 days in prison during the case for another matter. Instead, a community order was imposed.

Flossy was starved and neglected by callous Daniel Hewitt from Redcar, North Yorkshire

Speaking after the conclusion of the case, inspector Palmer said: “If Flossy had not been removed from the flat when she had, I think she would have been dead within days as she was nothing more than a walking skeleton with her hips, ribs and spine clearly visible.

Flossy, who has been renamed Angel, is now doing well in a loving home

“She was in a shocking state of neglect but soon put on weight once she received proper nutrition and the right care. I’m delighted that she has gone on to make a full recovery with the person who took her on, as these later images of her show. We’d also like to thank the police for helping us to ensure this case was able to reach a conclusion.”

Sentencing | 15-month community order with 22 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work; £600 costs and £90 victim surcharge. Disqualified from keeping any animals for 10 years.

TeessideLive
Northern Echo

animal fighting / baiting, hare coursing, Organised Animal Crime, poaching, Serial Animal Abusers, Wildlife Crime / Bloodsports

Liverton, Redcar and Cleveland: Ryan Spence

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CONVICTED (2022) | prolific poacher Ryan Thomas Spence, born c. 1990, of St Cuthberts Walk, Liverton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS13 4QL – hunted wild mammals with dogs.

Ryan Thomas Spence, a cocaine user with recent convictions for drink and drug driving, became the first offender in North Yorkshire to be given a Criminal Behaviour Order for poaching offences. He was also handed a six-month driving ban and just over £1,000 of fines.

Spence attended private farmland with three dogs in Normanby, near Kirkbymoorside in Ryedale, shortly before 9am on Tuesday February 15, 2022. Witnesses saw one of the dogs chasing a hare on the land and called the police, who attended the location and arrested Spence a short time later. Officers also seized the dogs.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said Spence is a prolific national offender, having previously been convicted of a number of poaching offences in North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Norfolk and Scotland.

The Criminal Behaviour Order served to Spence prevents him from:

  • Trespassing on any land with a dog, firearm, or any item capable of firing a projectile
  • Straying from any highway, bridleway, or public right of way onto any land
  • Driving, or be in, a motor vehicle or mechanically propelled vehicle other than on a publicly maintained road without written permission of the landowner
  • Being part of a group involved in the hunting of any wild mammals with dogs or firearms or any items capable of firing a projectile

Inspector Clive Turner from the rural task force said: “Ryan Spence has caused significant harm to our rural communities over a number of years, and I’m pleased he has now faced the courts and we have been successful in having the Criminal Behaviour Order granted.

“Poaching is a serious offence, it damages local businesses, economies and communities.

“I encourage anyone who sees any suspicious activity in our rural areas to report it to the police. Even if you are not sure whether or not crime is being committed, your information might just be the missing piece of the jigsaw we need to bring offenders like Spence to justice.

“Please dial 101, press 1 and pass information to our control room. If you see a crime being committed, please dial 999.”

Gazette Live

Update | February 2023

North Yorkshire Police reported that Ryan Spence had had his sentence increased at court.

Spence appealed the sentence imposed in September 2022. Happily his audacity was repaid as his driving ban was increased from six months to two years, and will now run from 23 February 2023. His original sentence was upheld.

The CBO remains in place, for five years from September 2022.

Inspector Clive Turner, from North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force, said: “The message is crystal clear – we will respond robustly to any poachers who set foot in North Yorkshire. Poaching is a serious offence which, in addition to being a wildlife crime, causes damage to property and misery in rural communities.

“Anyone thinking of committing these offences in our area can expect hefty fines, lengthy driving bans, the forfeiture of their property and court orders to put a stop to their criminal activity. With the addition of a CBO, a realistic prospect of a prison sentence can be expected for breaching the order.

“I’d like to remind everyone about the importance of calling in any suspected poaching. If it’s a crime in progress, please dial 999 so we can take immediate action – or if you have information about who may be responsible, call us on 101 or report it online via our website.”

North Yorkshire Police

Additional Information

Ryan Spence is originally from Guisborough and retains family links to that area. His previous address was Dorset Road, Guisborough TS14 7EB.

As of April 2022 Spence had amassed 24 convictions for 39 offences,

In August 2017 Spence was convicted of hare coursing alongside Anthony Webster, born c. 1981, of The Pines, Holywell Row, near Mildenhall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and Stuart Brunt, born 24 December1989, of 103 Copes Way, Chaddesden, Derby DE21 4NS .

Fellow wildlife persecutor Stuart Brunt from Chaddesden, Derby.

For this offence Spence was fined £5,000 and banned from having custody of dogs for five years. Webster was fined £600 and Brunt was fined £1,200, disqualified from keeping dogs for a year and ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

animal fighting / baiting, Dogs, hare coursing, hunting with dogs, Organised Animal Crime, Wildlife Crime / Bloodsports

Boosbeck / Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire: Callum Raw, Jamie Dewing, Mike Berry

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CONVICTED (2022) | hare coursers Callum Raw, born 22 April 1991, of 2 Fenton Court, Boosbeck TS12 3BG, Jamie Dewing, born 6 April 1989 of Valley View, Wharton Place, Boosbeck TS12 3AH and Mike Berry, born c. 1971, of Avon Court, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS12 3EB

Callum Raw (left) and Jamie Dewing

The three men were convicted of hunting a wild mammal with a dog and trespassing in search of game in East Yorkshire.

Officers from Humberside Police’s Rural Taskforce arreted the trio on private farmland in Arnold after they were spotted by a member of the public acting suspiciously with lurcher-type dogs.

Berry was fined £300, ordered to pay £300 in costs and a £34 victim surcharge. Raw was fined £900, ordered to pay £300 in costs and a £90 victim surcharge. Dewing was fined £200, ordered to pay £300 in costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

Callum Raw makes no secret of his lust for animal cruelty. Image: Facebook.

Berry and Raw were also issued three-year criminal behaviour orders, prohibiting them from entering Humberside Police’s Force Area and entering any private farmland in England or Wales with a sighthound or lurcher type dog.

York Press

Animal Abandonment, Dogs

Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire: Robbie Duce

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CONVICTED (2021) | Robbie Duce, born 24 December 1993, of 23 Grantham Green, Middlesbrough TS4 3QS – locked his two dogs in a cage to starve

Robbie Duce kept boxers Duke and Rocky locked in a cage for around 12 hours a day. Both dogs were emaciated and one was found with an untreated wound


Cruel Robbie Duce pleaded guilty to three animal welfare charges when he appeared before Teesside Magistrates Court.

The RSPCA investigated after receiving a report from a concerned member of the public about two neglected boxer dogs at a property.

Inspector Clare Wilson attended the address on January 7, 2021, and found the emaciated dogs, Duke and his son, Rocky.

Hypocrite Duce boasts about his bond with his dogs on social media. In reality he left “man’s best friend” to languish in barren metal cages without food and water

Inspector Wilson said: “Duke was extremely emaciated and I could easily see all his bones protruding – his spine, skull, hip bones, shoulder blades and ribs were spiky to touch. He also had deep sores down to the bone on his hip bones. His eyes looked red and had discharge staining below them.

“I was taken through to the kitchen where I saw Rocky, a white and brindle entire male Boxer dog of one-and-a-half years of age in a large metal crate in the kitchen.

“There was nothing on the base of the crate apart from the metal bars and it was empty apart from an empty food bowl and a water bowl containing a small amount of water. Rocky was also emaciated although not as thin as Duke. I could see his spine, ribs and pelvic bones clearly protruding.

“There were no comfortable resting areas for either of the dogs. There would also have been no opportunity for the dogs to toilet and their coats were soiled.”

Duce only received a six-year ban despite proving himself unfit to care for an animal

She rushed the dogs to a local vets in Darlington and the vet confirmed they were in a suffering state. Duke had a deep sore which needed stitching and both needed to gain weight.

The dogs were signed over by Duce into RSPCA care and were rehabilitated by RSPCA Felledge Animal Centre.

Animal abuser: Robbie Duce from Middlesbrough, UK. Picture: Facebook

An independent vet said in a statement: “In my opinion these dogs were caused unnecessary suffering for no less than six weeks.

“Duke had very deep, painful and infected ulcers or pressure sores. These were formed over the prominent bony prominences and were due to the emaciation and poor living conditions with the dog lying on the floor of a metal cage.

“In my opinion, these ulcers could have been prevented by keeping the dog in good bodily condition and by providing the dogs with comfortable beds to sleep on.

“It was reported that the dog was left in the metal indoor kennel for at least 12 hours a day whilst the dogs’ owner was at work. There was no plastic kennel liner in the cage, and there was no bedding. This would not have provided adequate space for the dogs to move around and there were no comfortable resting areas. There would have been no opportunity for the dogs to toilet and their coats were soiled.”

Both Duke and Rocky were rehabilitated by the RSPCA and went on to find new homes

Following the court hearing Clare added: “Both dogs are transformed – I saw Rocky the other day and he recognised me. He looks amazing and so happy! I am so pleased for them both that they have recovered so well and have found loving new homes and they still see each other and enjoy playing together as the video shows.”

Sentencing: 12 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work; £495 costs and charges. Six-year ban on keeping animals (expires June 2027).

Northern Echo
Gazette Live

Bestiality / Zoophilia, Dogs, Equine Abuse, horses and ponies, Paedophiles / Sex Offenders

Loftus, North Yorkshire: Chloe Simpson

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CONVICTED (2021) | Chloe Simpson, born c. 1997, of St Hilda’s Terrace, Loftus, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS13 4SE – carried out sexual acts on two dogs; amassed a sickening catalogue of child and animal abuse

Chloe Simpson

A total of 308 images of two dogs being sexually abused were stored on depraved Chloe Simpson’s digital equipment.

Simpson, who is transitioning to a man, was also caught with child abuse images, extreme pornography, involving animals, and a prohibited image of a child, when police raided her home.

The court heard how images and videos of sex acts on a “small white dog” were recovered as well as 33 extreme pornographic images involving horses and dogs.

A second laptop also contained four category A images, involving children between seven and 10-years-old, and another iPhone with one prohibited category A image.

A vet said that the white dog had suffered no lasting injury but had been exposed to the risk of infection and peritonitis.

Simpson pleaded guilty to a catalogue of offences, including possession of child abuse images and causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Chris Morrison, defending, said that she was a vulnerable person who was the carer for her grandmother, and her activities had centred around using her iPhones and laptops to visit the internet.

The court heard how Simpson was the primary carer for her grandmother but had moved out of her home for fear of ”Neanderthal’ repercussions.

Mr Morrison said his client’s mother had ‘washed her hands of her’ while she maintained that she had no sexual interest in children but offered up no excuse for her behaviour.

Judge Jonathan Carroll refuted her claim that she had no sexual interest in the material she was downloading and watching but accepted that she had had a difficult childhood and struggled with her sexual identity throughout her life.

Sentencing: ten-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Ten-year sexual harm order. Ten-year ban on owning animals (expires June 2031).

Northern Echo
Gazette Live

Update | September 2023

Simpson was handed another suspended sentence after failing to comply with the sex offender notification requirements and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

On Friday September 22, 2023, Simpson appeared back in court for offences which took place in July 2022 while she was subjected to the suspended sentence order.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Simpson was discovered with seven aliases and had turned on software which meant her internet browsing history was deleted after every use over a period of more than six months.

Simpson fully admitted the latest charges against her.

Recorder Andrew Dallas told Simpson: “You come here in extreme peril today. The probation service, recognising this, have been carefully considering what [provisions] should be made were I to send you to custody today.

“You have come within the nearest whisker of being sent to custody.”

The court heard that, other than this, Simpson, who was represented by Paul Abrahams, has complied with all of the rehabilitation activity requirement days and there have been no other reported breaches in the 14 months since the offence took place.

Recorder Dallas said: “There does prevail a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in your case.”

He handed Simpson, still of St Hilda’s Terrace, Loftus, a 12 month sentence suspended for two years. Simpson must carry out an additional 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay a £50 fine.

Gazette Live

guinea pigs, Hoarders, Small Furries

Skelton-in-Cleveland, Redcar and Cleveland: Julie Robertson

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CONVICTED (2020) | animal hoarder Julie Margaret Robertson, born c. 1967, of Derwent Road, Skelton-in-Cleveland, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS12 2NU – kept 48 guinea pigs in cramped cages, crates and hutches without food, water or bedding

Pet hoarder Julie Robertson and the conditions in which she kept dozens of guinea pigs
Hoarder Julie Robertson kept dozens of guinea pigs in horrific conditions. Some of the animals had already died and others were so emaciated they couldn’t recover


Julie Robertson kept dozens of guinea pigs in crowded conditions without food, water or bedding.

The animals were “nearly touching the ceilings” of their cages due to a thick layer of compacted faeces, urine and soiled straw.

Robertson pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to causing 14 guinea pigs to suffer and two further offences were proven in her absence.

RSPCA Inspector Clare Wilson, who led the investigation for the animal welfare charity, found multiple guinea pigs contained within two plastic indoor type cages within a garden shed at Robertson’s property.

Bodies of two guinea pigs were also found by inspectors and a few died due to “severe emaciation”.

Inspector Wilson said: “There were ten Guinea pigs confined in one cage and nine in another. They had no food or water available and no bedding or enrichment.

“The cages were steamed up with condensation. I found six more guinea pigs in a crate in Ms Robertson’s bedroom – they had no bedding, food or water and the crate was compacted with urine and faeces.

“There was a carrier bag next to the crate containing hay but there were no remnants of hay in their crate at all.

“I also found multiple guinea pigs confined within three hutches which were too small for the numbers of animals in them.”

She continued: “Each hutch contained a thick layer of compacted faeces and urine with soiled straw built up within it. The height of the dirty bedding in two of the hutches meant the animals were nearly touching the ceilings.

“The bodies of two further guinea pigs were found and none of the hutches had any remnants of food in or any enrichment.

“The smell was horrendous. Some of the guinea pigs looked thin and some had obvious eye problems.

“After they were examined by a vet they were taken to RSPCA Great Ayton animal centre for emergency boarding.

“The staff helped us provide plenty of bedding food and water and the guinea pigs demolished the food we gave them straight away.

“Several had to have eyes removed due to trauma suffered in the crowded conditions they were living in and unfortunately a few passed away due to their severe emaciation.”

Mitigation was heard in court that Robertson had looked after animals well before this but her defence admitted she neglected the guinea pigs.

They said she had arthritis so struggled cleaning them out and admitted she lost control of the numbers due to breeding.

Following the hearing, Inspector Wilson added: “Fortunately all of the surviving guinea pigs and many more babies that were born soon after removal have found loving new homes with owners who can give them the time and care they need.”

Sentencing: four-month curfew; ordered to pay £340 in costs and charges. Banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

TeessideLive

Animal Abandonment, Dogs, Worst of the Worst

Grangetown, North Yorkshire: Michael Warren

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CONVICTED (2020) | Michael Rodger Warren, born 20 June 1985, of Avondale Close, Grangetown, Middlesbrough TS6 9SD and with links to Guildford, Blackpool, Whitstable and Worthing – let a German Shepherd starve to death and left another with severe muscle wastage in squalid faeces-littered house

Dog killer Michael Warren from Middlesbrough, UK
The horrifying conditions in which two abandoned dogs were found by RSPCA inspectors
White German shepherd Bolt had already starved to death by the time RSPCA inspectors gained entry to Michael Warren’s squalid home, while his other dog Panther tragically stood guard over the corpse.

When RSPCA inspectors visited Michael Warren’s filthy home on June 27, 2020, they discovered the stricken dogs, Bolt and Panther. Very sadly, Bolt had already died from malnutrition while Panther had been starved to the point of emaciation. He weighed just 17.5kg, which is around half the weight of a healthy German Shepherd.

He had also suffered hair loss and was riddled with fleas.

When interviewed Warren was said to show “very little remorse” for what happened and “at one point he got up to make a cup of tea”.

Panther and Bolt, who were left to starve by Michael Warren
Panther and Bolt (white), who were left to starve by Michael Warren

Warren was charged with two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal but didn’t even turn up to his trial at the Magistrates’ Court.

Warren lies on social media about Bolt's cruel and preventable death
Shocking hypocrisy: Warren lies on social media about Bolt’s cruel and preventable death

He was found guilty in his absence and also appeared on Thursday 10 July 2020 to be sentenced for breaching a suspended sentence order relating to an offence he was sentenced for in 2019.

Dog killer Michael Warren from Middlesbrough, UK

Nicci Horton, mitigating, said her client had a diagnosis of dyslexia, had attended special needs schools in his youth and was taken into foster care at the age of six.

Ms Horton told the court that the puppies were bred by Warren’s mother, prolific backyard greeder Lucy Koca of Redcar. In June 2018 Koca had given her son two of the puppies as a birthday present but when he tried to return them, she refused to take them back.

Bolt and Panther as puppies
Bolt and Panther as puppies

Ms Horton agreed her client had been “negligent” in his actions, adding that he had been mostly living at another address at the time.

Warren has six previous convictions for eight offences.

In January 2019 a court heard how he threatened to slit his ex-girlfriend’s throat.

Dog killer Michael Warren pictured outside court

Judge Jonathan Carroll told Warren: “You neglected these two dogs to the extent that one nearly starved to death and the other one actually did.”

He added: “You must have known that dog was suffering and you did nothing about it.”

The court directed that the surviving dog, Panther, be passed into the care of the RSPCA for rehoming.

Sentencing: 30 weeks in jail. Disqualified from keeping animals for 10 years.

GazetteLive

Dogs

Hinderwell, Saltburn-By-The-Sea, North Yorkshire: Jamie Cole

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CONVICTED (2019) | Jamie Chapman Cole, born 27 September 1996, of Pond Farm Close, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS13 5HJ – for the starvation and neglect of his cocker spaniel dog

Convicted dog abuser Jamie Cole from Saltburn by the Sea, and his "shockingly thin" cocker spaniel, Blue
Jamie Cole’s dog Blue was described as shockingly thin, but the gamekeeper was not banned from keeping animals.

Vets estimated that gamekeeper Jamie Cole had neglected and starved his 10-month-old dog, known as Blue, for three to four weeks.

On 4 February 2019 Cole, who at the time was based at a farm near Minsterley in Shropshire, took Blue to the Malthouse Veterinary Group in Shrewsbury complaining of diarrhoea.

Vets there found her to have sunken eyes, a low body temperature, weighing only 6kgs and unable to stand on her own for long.

A vet described gamekeeper Jamie Cole's dog as shockingly thin

RSPCA prosecutor Roger Price told the court that a healthy body temperature for dogs would be between 38 and 39.2 degrees and the vet who assessed Blue used a thermometer that would only go as low as 32, which indicated that her temperature was at or below that threshold.

Blue was taken in and placed on a bed with a heat lamp to try and raise her body temperature, and ate “ravenously” when fed, Mr Price said.

Blue’s condition improved and she was seen on February 6 by another vet at Taylor & Marshall.

A vet described gamekeeper Jamie Cole's dog as shockingly thin

That vet described Blue as “shockingly thin” and said she was likely to have been in her condition for three to four weeks.

She had been suffering with a “large amount” of roundworms as well, Mr Price said.

Her condition continued to improve in the vets’ care and she gained weight.

The court heard that Cole was an experienced handler of dogs, and that several other dogs he had responsibility for at the time were healthy and happy.

Cole’s representative Georgia Griffiths told the magistrates: “This is a man who’s incredibly upset with what’s happened. He feels terrible in himself for letting it happen, and letting the dog down and himself down.”

Being a gamekeeper was a “lifelong dream” and he had always had a good relationship with dogs, she said, but after his failure to care for Blue he has given up his other dogs and his job voluntarily and moved to be with his family in Yorkshire.

“His dream has been squashed by his own actions but he wasn’t malicious, and he didn’t do it on purpose.”

Chair of the bench Lesley Thirlwell said: “You were proactive in giving up your job, your animals and changing your lifestyle completely.

“We feel that that was punishment over and above the punishment the courts were going to make.

“You have shown remorse and already changed your lifestyle, and that has convinced us you will not be acquiring any dog in the near future.”

Sentencing | community order including 80 hours of unpaid work; ordered to pay £485. Deprivation order on Blue but no ban on keeping animals was imposed by the court.

Shropshire Star

Dogs, Lifers, Worst of the Worst

Loftus, North Yorkshire: Carla Freer

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CONVICTED (2019) | Carla Marie Freer, aka Carla Jackson, born c. 1978, of High Street, Loftus TS13 – for the shocking neglect of a Shih Tzu found severely matted and with her paws rotted away.

Animal abuser Carla Freer from Loftus, North Yorkshire.

The RSPCA was called in March 2019 after the dog, known as Lola, was taken to a vet practice by a concerned member of the public.

RSPCA Inspector Clare Wilson said: “Lola was in a shocking condition, her fur was extremely matted and covered in urine and faeces and she was struggling to walk.

Shih Tzu Lola was so badly neglected by Loftus woman Carla Freer her paws dissolved under her matted fu
Poor Lola was so badly neglected her paws had dissolved under her matted fur

“Unfortunately when vets put her under anaesthetic to clip her fur what they found was worse than anyone could have imagined.

“Her hind feet had literally dissolved under the matting, and her back legs were just stumps with exposed bone.

“The vet decided that the only humane thing to do was to put her to sleep to prevent further suffering which took place with her owner’s consent.”

Lola’s owner, mother-of-three Carla Marie Freer pleaded guilty to one offence under the Animal Welfare Act.

Veterinary evidence produced in court said that it was highly likely that the matting – which in extreme cases can restrict blood supply – had caused Lola’s feet to be destroyed.

The expert vet said that in 30 years’ experience, and dealing with many cases of matting including where limbs had been lost, it was “without doubt…the worst case of a matted animal I have seen”.

In mitigation the court was told that Freer’s personal circumstances had dramatically changed resulting in her not having so much time for Lola. It wasn’t deliberate cruelty, and she didn’t know the extent of the injuries or she would have acted.

Sentencing | four-month prison sentence suspended for two years; two-year community order comprising 150 hours of unpaid work, 10 days of rehabilitation requirement days, and an eight-week curfew. Freer was ordered to pay a total of £515 costs and charges. She was disqualified from keeping all animals for life.

Gazette & Herald

Dogs

Redcar, North Yorkshire: Andrew Feeney

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CONVICTED (2019) | Andrew Feeney, born 9 July 1971, of Haweswater Road, Redcar TS10 1LP – hit a dog with his taxi, dragged him along for 40 yards then drove away, leaving him dying in the road.

Redcar taxi driver Andrew Feeney failed to stop after hitting a dog, causing fatal injuries.
Taxi driver Andrew Feeney failed to stop after running over a puppy, leaving him for dead in the road

Feeney, who works for Redcar firm Elite Taxis, collided with 12-month-old Bedlington terrier/spaniel cross Bear on Sandsend Road in Redcar.

Upsetting CCTV footage showed the little black and white dog “pinned” to the front of Feeney’s taxi.

After the pup drops to the floor, Feeney then makes off in his vehicle. The stricken animal can then be seen lying on his back kicking his legs as people rushed to help.

Bear was taken to a vet but his injuries were so severe he had to be put to sleep. The vet said he would have likely survived if the taxi had stopped immediately after hitting him.

A vet said Bear could have survived if the taxi had stopped after hitting him

Prosecutor Ann Mitchell told the court how Bear’s owner had been mowing the lawn shortly after 11am on Tuesday 25 September 2018 when the dog clambered over the front garden wall.

The owner watched Bear disappear down Runswick Avenue on to Sandsend Road but as he went to retrieve him, he saw the pup pinned to the front of the taxi.

Redcar taxi driver Andrew Feeney failed to stop after hitting a dog, causing fatal injuries

A Royal Mail postal worker on the street at the time said she had heard “a loud bang” then saw the taxi which “seemed to speed up”.

“About 40 yards on I saw the animal laid in the road with his legs in the air,” she said.

“The taxi had not slowed at all, in fact I thought it had sped up.

“The driver must have known he had hit something as the sound was loud in the post van which had the windows up and doors shut”.

Bear’s owner said their ordeal had a “massive” emotional impact on the family.

His partner had struggled to come to terms with the loss of their pet and criticised him for allowing the dog to be in the garden. They had ended up separating over their differences, he said.

In a statement he said: “I not only lost my beloved dog but my partner and mother of my six children.”

Redcar taxi driver Andrew Feeney failed to stop after hitting a dog, causing fatal injuries.

Feeney denied failing to stop after a road accident and failing to report it but was found guilty of the offences after a trial.

When interviewed by police, Feeney agreed he had driven along the road but said he did not hit the dog and was only aware of the incident as he had been accused on Facebook.

Hours after hitting Bear, he had taken the Skoda Octavia to be repaired and told the mechanic the damage to the front had been caused after hitting a cat.

However, the mechanic, with 18 years’ experience in professional bodywork restoration, said it was unlikely that such damage could have been caused by a cat.

Defending, Sarah Lish had suggested the officer investigating should have inspected other cars as there were other taxis of a similar description.

But the court heard Feeney’s taxi had five “distinctive” stickers on the side which could be seen clearly on the footage.

The magistrates said it was “inconceivable” that any other person could have been responsible for the accident.

Sentencing: fined £962 and ordered to pay costs and charges of £489. Eight penalty points were added to Feeney’s licence.

Gazette Live

Additional Information

As of late September 2021 Andrew Feeney, birth name Thomas Andrew Feeney, became sole director of Budget Tyres (Redcar) Limited, which trades as Budget Auto Centre. He also owns the Lakes Service Centre. Both garages are based in Limerick Road, Dormanstown, Redcar.