Greyhound trainer banned from keeping dogs

Magistrates said the dogs would have experienced 'appalling suffering'

A greyhound trainer has been jailed for 20 weeks and banned from keeping dogs for life after he admitted four charges of animal neglect.

The charges against Charles Elliott, 40, of Stratton, Swindon, related to seven greyhounds, three of which died.

Swindon magistrates said the photos they were shown of the dogs were 'extremely distressing' and they would have experienced 'appalling suffering'.

Elliott was also ordered to pay £750 costs and a £122 victim surcharge.

RSPCA inspector Andrew Coombs said: "The dogs were in extremely dire circumstances," when they arrived at Elliott's mother's home where the dogs were kept on 14 April 2019.

Three dogs were dead and the others were at different stages of weight loss.

"There was no food in the house so he wasn't feeding them at that time. The deceased dogs were almost like skeletons with skin over the top.

"One older greyhound was considerably underweight and had an extremely sore, swollen mouth, the worst I've seen on any animal."

Elliott has been banned from keeping dogs for life

In mitigation, Elliott said he was not coping well as he was working night shifts, his relationship with his partner had broken down and he had been using alcohol and prescription drugs for his back pain.

Magistrates added that it would have taken weeks or even months for the dogs to have reached their state.