A dog owner who was jailed after his family pet was beaten, strangled and set on fire had his six-month sentence cut yesterday.

Because prosecutors accepted that Wayne Pearce, 37, was not responsible for the death of black and white collie Jack, his time behind bars has been halved.

Pearce lashed out after Jack bit him during a row with his 15-year- old daughter.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how, despite training the dog himself to protect his three children, Pearce decided to "teach the dog a lesson" and beat him in the yard with a stick.

Tim Gittins, prosecuting, said Pearce then led the dog away from the house and returned empty-handed.

Its charred body was found later that day in nearby woods known locally as Big Hill, in Glebe, Washington, Wearside. It had been hanged.

It is believed that children accidentally set fire to the body, which was hidden under a pile of wood.

Pearce, of Washington, pleaded guilty to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog.

The court was told a post- mortem examination showed it had died of strangulation.

Defence barrister Marc Davies said: "The defendant has never accepted any more than that he did strike the dog in anger and take the dog away from the house, but there it stops."

Judge Tony Lancaster, sitting with two magistrates, allowed Pearce's appeal against his six- month sentence, on the basis he beat the dog, but did not hang or burn it, and cut his sentence to three months.