A MAN faces prison after admitting he starved a dog to death.

Magistrates, sitting at Bishop Auckland yesterday, warned Carl Robert Coulson that he could be given a jail sentence for causing unnecessary suffering to the Staffordshire-English bull terrier crossbreed.

The 19-year-old, of Coniston Crescent, Crook, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering by failing to care for the dog, between November 22 and December 22 last year.

Kevin Campbell, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said the dog had not eaten for at least four weeks.

Mr Campbell said: "When the dog was recovered it was still alive, only barely.

"The vet who examined the dog said it was less than half its proper weight, in appalling general condition, its teeth were black, it was covered in filth and nails were long.

"It was completely unresponsive. It was unable to stand on its own legs and though the vet managed to get some food and water into it, the dog died that night."

The court heard that Coulson had ignored the advice of RSPCA inspector Gavin Butterfield, who visited him in August last year after neighbours expressed concerns about the dog's welfare.

When Mr Butterfield was called back in December, he said the dog had declined from powerful build to an appalling condition.

Chairman of the bench, Eric Fell, said: "The words unnecessary suffering hardly describe this case. It is the worst case of suffering I have ever had to come across.

"For that reason we will ask for probation reports before sentencing, but they must be steered towards custody."

The case was adjourned until March 29, for sentencing.