CONVICTED (2024) | John Cameron Lindop, born 20 March 2000, of 7 Albion Hill, Epworth, Doncaster DN9 1HU* but with family links to Gainsborough, and Lucy Elizabeth Melrose, born 20 June 2000, of Hawthorne Road, Ferryhill DL17 9DP but originally from Gateshead – killed and burned a puppy and abused other animals in a campaign of horrific cruelty.

John Lindop and Lucy Melrose committed a series of sickening offences against defenceless animals. These included killing a puppy and burning the remains, beating a second dog, riding a small lame pony, and setting a dog on a chicken while filming the carnage.

At the time the pair lived together in a flat in Fifth Street, Horden, County Durham.

It was said in court that the pair were in a tempestuous relationship and took out their frustrations on their pets.

They appeared at Durham Crown Court on Friday 16 February 2024 and were given suspended prison sentences.

The crimes came to light following an RSPCA investigation led by Inspector Clare Wilson, which spanned two years and involved multiple animals.

The charity was first alerted to the couple in February 2022 when a member of the public contacted the RSPCA after bringing Max, a lurcher they had recently rehomed, into the PDSA Gateshead with injuries to his abdomen, and blood in his urine.

Inspector Clare Wilson said: “Max was very subdued and withdrawn, he was hanging his head and was attached to drips when I first saw him.

“I immediately noticed that his muzzle was very swollen as was his right side near his shoulder. There was blood visible in the white of his right eye too. I was told that he had been weeing blood.

“There was bruising visible on his abdomen and sheath and there were blood marks on his legs and I saw old scars on his rear legs near his feet. His nails were not scuffed as we would expect if he had been hit by a car so the vet told me that they thought he had been beaten or kicked.”

The member of the public who brought the dog into the vets had rehomed him from Melrose and Lindop the day before and she had brought the lurcher to the vets as soon as she realised he was injured.

A vet report found Max had suffered blunt force trauma injuries, brought on by physical abuse.

The report said: “Max was bleeding from both nostrils which were dripping blood. He had soft tissue swelling around his left eye and bruising on his neck. He also had visible bruising and swelling on both sides of his ribs and thighs and heavy bruising on his abdomen. The injuries suffered by Max are consistent with low energy impacts, such as kicking, being hit by fists, or thrown from a few metres down or falling down the stairs.

“Out of each of these scenarios it is my opinion that being kicked is most likely due to the placement of all his injuries. In my opinion, he has been hit or kicked to the muzzle and kicked repeatedly – possibly multiple times to his abdomen as bruising and injuries were more extensive there.”

When interviewed, Melrose claimed that Lindop had, “kicked him like a football and stamped on his head.”

It was later revealed that during the investigation, the couple had hid other dogs from the RSPCA, including a lurcher called Bambi and a German Shepherd dog called Tally.

Melrose later showed these dogs to the RSPCA’s investigating officer. Tally was underweight and her right ear was crooked and inflamed with a severe ear infection.

Durham Crown Court heard how the vet found Tally suffered due to the ear condition which would have caused irritation and pain for at least 10 days or longer.

A report stated that the person responsible for Tally had failed to seek veterinary advice for her ear condition and therefore had failed in protecting her from pain and suffering.

During the investigation, Melrose’s phone was seized and found to contain shocking videos depicting more animal welfare offences. This included Bambi, a fawn coloured lurcher, being baited and set on a chicken. Lindop claimed Melrose was responsible for this but “accepted he found it funny at the time, but did not know if the chicken had died as he had gone to the chip shop”.

A series of other videos on her phone showed Melrose riding a Shetland pony called Dinky who was struggling under the weight of carrying her and was clearly lame in one leg.

Analysis of the videos by a vet revealed: “The female was far too large for both the saddle and the pony and as a result her body overhangs the back and sides of the saddle. The female is carrying a whip in her right hand and trying to force the pony to trot forwards.”

The 16-second video showed her hitting the pony with a stick 10 times.

The pony tries to avoid having to move forward and only moves forward at a trot once she has been repeatedly smacked with the whip and this is due to the fear and pain of being hit. The mouth of the pony is often open due to her discomfort and the pony is visibly lame on the right forelimb.

Text messages between Lindop and his mother were also discovered in which Lindop asks “If a dog’s been hit and nearly dead am I not in the right to finish it off so it’s not in pain or does that mean I killed it?”.

With the reply: “She killed it, you put it out its misery but you would both get done as should have been done by a vet humanely.”

Lindop then replied to his mother: “Won’t find it now like coz burnt it (sic).”

The charred remains of Hades, a 12 week old Welsh Herder puppy, were also found close to a railway line in an area of scrubland in Hordon, Peterlee, where there were burnt patches on the ground and fragments of Hades’ bones were discovered by the RSPCA.

Lindop claimed in graphic detail that Melrose had killed him whilst Melrose told investigators that Lindop had “hung him from a door until he was brain dead.”

The prosecution said they were unable to say who killed Hades but the method of his death was “sadistic” and involved him being hung from a door and killed with a hammer.

Lindop, whom it was said in court is living with his family in Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, admitted two counts each of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and permitting or failing to stop unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

Melrose admitted two counts each of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and permitting or failing to stop unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, plus one of causing an animal fight to take place by baiting a chicken with a dog.

In mitigation, the court heard how the pair had challenging backgrounds and it was felt that rehabilitation is possible, given their young age.

Philip Morley, for Lindop, said he was, “not a sophisticated man”, having had “limited education” and is thought to suffer with an undiagnosed learning difficulty.

He said despite that, he has held down a variety of jobs and, “largely kept out of trouble”.

Mr Morley said at one stage Lindop formed a relationship with Melrose which he described as “toxic” and for which there is, now, no prospect of any reconciliation.

“It was clearly an unhealthy relationship for either party and not a good environment for those animals to be kept in.

“He’s deeply sorry and ashamed for what happened.

“The relationship got on top of him and he clearly took his eye off the ball.

“Both have now moved on and he has a new life in Gainsborough, working with his step-father in roofing and window cleaning.”

Mr Morley said, ironically, Lindop has a background of looking after animals and won a number of rosettes for training dogs in his younger days,

But he added that his client does not accept responsibility for the death of Hades, for which he has shown “genuine upset and remorse.”

Katie Spence, for Melrose, said her previous employment involved working with animals, but the entire experience of what went on during her relationship with Lindop has put her off any future involvement, regardless of the punishment and bars put on her by the court.

“She is extremely remorseful for any behaviour and wishes she had dome more than she did in these circumstances (to prevent it).”

Judge Peter Armstrong also mentioned mental health issues and commented that Lindop was now in a secure relationship with a baby on the way.

He said due to their age, their immaturity, and lack of previous offences, he was “just” able to suspend the inevitable prison sentences on both defendants.

He said, given the volatile relationship the pair were involved in, “I suspect you were taking out your frustrations on these animals in your welfare.”

He said he would not try to pinpoint who was primarily responsible for, “this catalogue of most unpleasant offending.”

Speaking about the case, RSPCA Inspector Clare Wilson, said: “This has been the most challenging case of my career so far and has been extremely distressing to investigate. It is clear that many animals suffered untold pain and mental torture at the hands of these defendants and I am immensely relieved that they will not be permitted to care for animals again for a long time.”

The RSPCA said Dinky was owned by a third party and is doing better now after recovering from her mistreatment. The dogs were brought into the care of RSPCA Felledge Animal Centre in Chester-le-Street where they have now been rehomed.

Sentencing | each were given 16-month prison sentences, suspended for two years. Both will undergo 40 days of rehabilitation and Lindop was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. Both were disqualified from keeping all animals for 15 years.

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Northern Echo

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*alternative address for John Lindop is Thurlby Road, Gainsborough.