A MAN who beat a dog so badly it suffered injuries akin to being in a road accident has been sentenced in court.

Teesside Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday that John Jason McLellan, 37, attacked the Staffordshire bull terrier called Bam after its owner - McLellan’s girlfriend at the time -left for work.

RSPCA inspector Clare Wilson said a neighbour heard Bam being beaten and called his owner. “Her mother went straight over to the house and found Bam frightened, finding it hard to walk and urinating blood,” said Insp Wilson. Bam suffered bruising, air crackles under the skin and blood in his urine.

Insp Wilson said: “He was very subdued and scared, and in lots of pain. The vet said he would normally only find air under the skin in cases of extreme trauma such as a road traffic accident.”

McLellan of Delarden Road, Middlesbrough, admitted kicking Bam five times.

He was given 12-weeks custody, suspended for 18-months, and banned from keeping animals for ten years. He was also given a 30-day rehabilitation order, plus £500 costs and a victim surcharge.