Cruel Crufts runner-up given animal ban

A prize-winning dog owner who kept animals in squalid conditions has been banned from keeping animals for life.

Wendy Hutcheson, 58, who ran Audenshaw Dog and Cat Home in Greater Manchester, was a runner-up in one of the categories at Crufts in 2007.

A vet later described the conditions they found at her animal shelter as the worst they had seen in 28 years.

Tameside magistrates found her guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to 92 dogs, cats and rabbits.

Hutcheson, who now lives in Laurel Avenue, Inverness, was convicted of six charges earlier this week.

She was given a conditional discharge along with the ban and told to pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs.

She has now lodged an appeal against her sentence and conviction

The case was brought by the RSPCA, who visited Audenshaw Dog and Cats Home in January 2009 after a call from the police.

Ninety-two animals were found in total - 63 dogs, 25 cats, two rabbits and two birds.

All were seized by police on veterinary advice and placed in RSPCA care.