A 60-year-old woman who kept flea-infested terriers in a house littered with rat droppings has been banned from keeping animals for two years. Magistrates in Bodmin heard how an RSPCA inspector witnessed a terrier burrowing into a pile of rubbish to find a rat in a Saltash woman's living room. When Insp Sarah Miles called at the home of Angela Clift in November last year she found four dogs in the house which was full of piles of rubbish, dog and rodent excrement and had live rats running about. Clift, of Callington Road, denied four charges of failing to ensure the needs of animals in her care were met.

After a three-day trial the bench found the case proved and Clift was given a three-year conditional discharge with a two-year ban on owning or keeping dogs. An order depriving her of the four dogs seized by the RSPCA was made, but was suspended until January 1, 2010, to allow her to make arrangements for the dog currently in her possession.

For further details see this week's Cornish Times.