A NORTH-EAST man has been locked up after admitting filming his illegal dog taking part in a brutal fight.

Daniel Tate was sentenced to five months at a young offenders' institution and banned from keeping animals for ten years after he pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a dog and owning a banned animal.

Mobile phone footage of the fight was handed to Cleveland Police, who asked the RSPCA to investigate the case.

Yesterday, the 20-year-old, of Cresswell Road, Grangetown, near Redcar, east Cleveland, was sentenced at Teesside Magistrates' Court.

The court heard that Tate's pit bull terrier-type dog, Chico, was filmed fighting a Staffordshire bull terrier-type dog that RSPCA inspectors believe had been stolen for the illegal confrontation.

The short film showed the dogs being baited and encouraged to fight, with Tate's dog viciously attacking the other animal.

And despite the efforts to trace the Staffordshire bull terrier the inspectors were unable to trace the attacked dog and have not been able determine whether the animal was seriously injured or even killed.

Inspector Alan Fisher, of the RSPCA's special operations Unit, investigated the dog fight.

Speaking after the hearing, he said: "I'm very pleased the court viewed this matter so seriously and passed their sentence accordingly.

"Dog-fighting is an appalling and cruel practice.

"Animals are forced together in artificial circumstances and caused pain and suffering.

"The RSPCA will continue its efforts to stamp out this vile practice, and assistance from the public in reporting these matters is gratefully appreciated and welcome."

Tate's co-accused, James Harland, of Lumley Road, Redcar, did not appear in court and will face similar charges at a future date.

The North-East has an appalling record of animal cruelty and regularly comes top of the charity's prosecution league table.

The video footage led to Cleveland Police and the RSPCA carrying out a crackdown on illegal fighting dogs in the east Cleveland area, which saw seven suspected members of a dog-fighting ring arrested in March last year.

The raids, which were the culmination of a ten-month surveillance operation, saw four heavily- built pit bull terrier-type dogs led into restraint cages by RSPCA officers.

Operation Bale is believed to have smashed a gang suspected of using dangerous dogs for social status and organising spectator battles in alley-gated arenas near homes.