Teenager jailed for 20-minute attack on dog

A teenager was starting a 16-week sentence today after being caught on CCTV kicking and punching a dog in a 20-minute attack.

An RSPCA inspector dubbed the vicious attack "one of the most blatant cases of animal cruelty" he had ever seen.

Simeon Major, 19, of Buxton Road, Luton, was handed an eight-week custodial sentence at Luton Magistrates' Court yesterday for launching a violent attack on the Staffordshire Bull Terrier-type dog.

He was also given a further eight weeks for breaching a suspended sentence and was banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

CCTV footage shows Major kicking and punching the female dog, which was around seven months old at the time, in front of a group of friends for 15 to 20 minutes.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, the RSPCA said, after he failed to show at previous hearings, and he pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering last Friday.

A spokeswoman said during the attack in Brantwood Road, Luton on March 29, the dog was kicked against a wall and punched.

Major then dragged it onto the wall, just to punch it down again.

At one point the dog ran away but later dutifully returned to Major where it was then kicked again, the video shows.

RSPCA prosecutor Mark Jones said the dog did not show any sign of aggression to anyone, including Major, during the incident.

Today RSPCA inspector Peter Warne said: "This was the most blatant case of animal cruelty I have ever seen.

"It wasn't just one kick and punch, he repeatedly attacked the dog over a sustained period of time.

"It was just unbelievable to watch this on CCTV, he punched, dragged, and kicked the dog. There is just no excuse for what he did."

The RSPCA said after the incident Major said he had given the dog to a friend and that he was told yesterday if the dog was found in his care again the RSPCA could remove it.

The charity said that when Major was interviewed by police, he told officers he was play-fighting and had "taken it too far".

He told the court that he had no excuse for what he had done, a spokeswoman said.