A COUPLE have each been spared jail terms despite neglecting a dog so badly it had to be put down.

David Bramble and Amy James, of Fairfax Road, Colchester, left pet Cocker Spaniel Tyson with fur matted so badly he was unable to walk properly.
 

It resulted in him being covered in his own excrement, Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard.

The pair were given a lifetime ban from caring for animals.
 

They each admitted four charges under the Animal Welfare Act.
 

Lauren Bond, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said an inspector found the animal in a shed with rotting food.

The dog was lying on a small bed, covered in its own excrement and its fur was matted.
 

Mrs Bond said: “His backbone could easily be felt as he was so thin."
 

A vet said it would have taken several months of neglect for Tyson’s fur to have been in such a poor way and about two weeks after being discovered, he was put down.
 

Steven Levy, mitigating, said Bramble, 33, had been given the dog by his father and had “inherited the problem”.
 

He said James, 24, was completely against them taking care of the animal as they couldn’t afford it.
 

Chair of the bench Barry Arnold, gave Bramble a 12-week prison sentence and must undertake 180 hours’ unpaid work, while under supervision for a year.
James was given a six-week prison sentence and a supervision order for 12 months.
Both prison sentences were suspended for a year.
 

Bramble must also pay £691 costs and a £80 victim surcharge, and James £400 costs and a £80 victim surcharge.