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Jade Anderson dogs death: Court hears of 'horrific' scene | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
The moment a policeman found a girl who had been mauled to death by four dogs was the most distressing sight of his life, a court has heard. | |
Jade Anderson, 14, died on 26 March at the house in Atherton, near Wigan. | |
Town magistrates were told PC Martin Burkinshaw would "never forget" encountering a bull mastiff-type dog, which was covered in Jade's blood. | |
His account was heard at the sentencing of Beverley Concannon, who received a suspended jail term for animal cruelty. | |
Paul Taylor, prosecuting, read a statement from PC Burkinshaw about how the officer found Jade's body in the kitchen and all four dogs at the back door trying to get in. | |
She had been at Concannon's house in Chaucer Grove visiting a teenage friend. | |
'Stir crazy' | |
The statement said: "The sound of the dogs in the backyard was horrific. | |
"I will never forget what I saw. There was a large white bull mastiff-type dog. | "I will never forget what I saw. There was a large white bull mastiff-type dog. |
"Its head and mouth were covered in fresh blood and it was bounding in the backyard." | "Its head and mouth were covered in fresh blood and it was bounding in the backyard." |
Concannon, who was out of the house when Jade was attacked by the dogs, was given a 16-week suspended jail sentence after admitting causing suffering to the four animals. | |
The hearing heard how one dog, Buddy, an American bulldog, was "stir crazy". | |
Family 'disgusted' | |
It was kept in a cage as punishment and it was not walked or trained, the court was told. | |
District Judge Mark Hadfield told Concannon she should have been aware of the aggression of her dogs and that her treatment of the animals had contributed to their state. | |
He ordered her to pay costs and a victim surcharge totalling £165 and banned her from keeping dogs indefinitely. | |
In September, the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was "insufficient evidence" to bring a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence against Concannon. | |
Jade's family said they were "disgusted" with the suspended sentence. | |
The teenager's mother Shirley and stepfather Michael have campaigned for the government to tighten the laws around dangerous animal ownership. | |
They want dog owners who fail to stop their pet attacking someone to be liable to prosecution. |