Drunken Carlisle women jailed for torturing singing parrot

Tracy Dixon (left) and Nicola Bradley (right) were each jailed for 25 months

Two women have been jailed for the "sadistic" killing of an African grey parrot.

Nicola Bradley, 35, and Tracy Dixon, 47, both of Carlisle, doused Sparky in cleaning products and put her in a tumble dryer before breaking her neck.

The pair denied causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal but were found guilty and each jailed for 25 months at Carlisle Crown Court.

Both women were also banned from owning or keeping animals indefinitely.

'Sang TV tunes'

In a statement read to the court, Sparky's owner Paul Crooks said he now suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and sleeping issues.

Mr Crooks had given the women a lift to his house following a drunken night out on 30 July last year.

He left the following morning to go shopping, but when he returned he found Sparky unresponsive and unrecognisable, her head hanging limply out of a cage.

After confronting the pair, he learned the parrot, who was popular with his friends for singing the national anthem and TV soap theme tunes, had been covered in furniture polish and paint.

The women had attempted to feed his much-loved pet to his dog and put her in a tumble dryer, the court heard.

'Serious cruelty'

Mr Crooks said it had "not been the same without her" and described her as "a huge miss".

Prosecutor Dan Bramhall said Sparky had previously been "well and healthy" and a "happy bird".

There had been "sadistic behaviour" by both women, Mr Bramhall said, with "serious cruelty inflicted".

The women, who had sought to blame each other for the "sustained attack" on the bird, were previously found guilty by city magistrates.

Judge Richard Archer said their actions had been "frankly beyond comprehension".