A COUPLE have been banned from keeping animals for five years after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to two German shepherd dogs.

Mark Robinson and Lisa Marie Kieran, of Edgemoor Road, Darlington, were also ordered to pay £200 towards costs by Bishop Auckland magistrates yesterday.

The court heard how an RSPCA inspector visited their home in March last year and found two dogs in an outhouse next to the kitchen.

The outhouse was wet and covered in mud, leaving the two dogs without a dry place to sleep.

Both dogs were also caked in mud and excrement and there was a strong smell of urine coming from the outhouse.

Kevin Campbell, on behalf of the RSPCA, said: "Both dogs were clinically under- weight and kept in totally unacceptable conditions.''

Ian Dixon, who represented the couple, told the court that they had kept animals all their lives and had never had any problems.

He said that the couple even had a direct debit for £5 coming out of their bank account as a charity donation to the RSPCA.

He said at the time the couple and their four children had moved home and had only lived in their new house for about three months.

They admitted that the conditions the dogs were being kept in were not very good, but said that they were not kept in the outhouse all the time. He said that the weight loss could have been because the pair were pining for a labrador that the couple had also owned but had to get rid of before moving.

Mr Dixon said: "They had sought advice about the weight loss over the telephone from a vet, but that was three months ago.

"Mr Robinson said to me this morning 'I was doing my best under the circumstances and so did she. But we accept that our best wasn't good enough here'."