A twisted dog owner who forced his terriers to fight wild animals underground has today been jailed for 160 days.

Cruel Steven Alston was told his actions were “barbaric and brutal” by a district judge who banned him from keeping animals for life.

He was unmoved by defence appeals for him to suspend the sentence and claims that Alston was now receiving death threats following publicity of the case.

Warning: graphic images below

The court heard how the 49-year-old trained the Patterdale terriers on treadmills to boost their strength before dropping them into badger and fox holes.

To satisfy his lust for the illegal bloodsport, he would then film the fights, which left three dogs with injuries so horrific their bones were exposed and lips missing.

The brute - who taught bricklaying at Canterbury College until 2010 - even hung pictures of the savaged dogs on the walls of his house in Pineside Road, Littlebourne.

Harrowing footage captured by the RSPCA at Alston’s home has been released and makes for uncomfortable viewing.

Video: The dogs suffered horrific injuries. Warning: graphic footage

An officer commentates over the video as he walks around the compound, where the dogs were kept in metal cages with concrete floors.

He tells how it is clear from their injuries that they have been used to fight wild animals, noting how one dog has lost its entire nose to the barbaric practice.

He adds that they would have been pitted against badgers and foxes in the “complete darkness” deep underground.

Investigators also found detailed diaries going back decades written by Alston recording the fights between his dogs and wild animals.

One terrier is seen licking at its wounds while others are heard whimpering.

Alston’s activities were only discovered after his wife unwittingly dialled 999 on her mobile while she was at work which resulted in a silent 999 calls to police, who treated it as potential emergency.

Officers traced the phone number to the house in Littlebourne when they got into the rear of property and found seven dogs in pens, three with serious facial injuries

One later need reconstructive surgery to its mouth and nose and all have now been rehomed.

He initially pleaded his innocence but as his trial was due to start last month he changed his pleas and admitted one charge of causing an animal fight to take place and one charge of causing unnecessary suffering to three of the dogs by failing to get proper veterinary treatment for their injuries.

Charges against his wife Lucy Alston, 44, were dropped.

District judge Justin Barron, sitting today at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court, said: “The way you treated the animals was brutal and barbaric and only immediate custody can be justified.”

Banning him from keeping animals for life, he added: “The reason is that your behaviour seems deeply engrained and I don’t think that you will change unless the law forces you too.

“You left your dogs in a totally appalling state, bones exposed, lips gone – just terrible.

Video: RSPCA Chief Inspector Ian Briggs comments on the sentencing

“You can’t claim to be of good character. You’ve been at it for a long time.”

He said was passing the maximum sentence available because of the severity of the offences, but allowed a 10% reduction because of his guilty pleas.

He added: "In reality, I don't think that's long enough. I think you deserve a lot more than that."

Alston, who arrived in court with a bag of clothes, was also ordered to pay £10,000 towards the £50,000 RSCPA prosecution costs which were acrued when he initially denied the charges.

Jonathan Edwards, for Alston, said his client had suffered a "catastrophic" loss of work because of the publicity surrounding the case and his means were considerably depleted and financial circumstances were "precarious".

He claimed Alston had "been doing his best" to reduce the suffering of his dogs with painkillers.

He added: "He is not completely dismissive of their injuries and is not callous but a man who valued the animals in his care. There was no intention to hurt them."

He appealed to the judge to impose a suspended sentence with unpaid work.

After the case, Chief Inspector Ian Briggs said: “Using terriers to hunt and fight wild animals is a sickening form of deliberate and premeditated animal cruelty.

“It isn’t just the animals targeted that suffer sickening injuries, but also the dogs used in this barbaric activity.

“These injured dogs will have been put underground in the likes of badger setts and fox earths, where they would have endured the sort of encounters that left both animals with huge trauma wounds.

“No animal deserves to be used and treated in this way. I am pleased that the court clearly took a similarly strong view and has prevented the defendant from owning a dog ever again.”

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