Pets ban for couple who kept 56 dogs

A couple with five children who kept 56 large dogs in their four-bedroom house have been banned from keeping animals for eight years.

When the RSPCA raided James and Nicola Hood's house in Minehead, Somerset, they were "swamped by a sea of dogs", Taunton magistrates heard. Huskies, German shepherds, Rottweilers and Staffordshire bull terriers were found, as well as cats, birds and chinchillas.

Hood, 40, and his 32-year-old wife earlier admitted nine animal-cruelty charges. The court imposed a conditional discharge and ordered them to pay costs.