A THUG who battered his dog to death has been given a suspended jail sentence and banned from keeping animals for the rest of his life.

Nathan Smith had pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to his white Staffordshire bull terrier Winston, at a hearing at St Helens Magistrates’ Court last month.

The 28-year-old from City Road subjected the dog to repeated violent attacks between August and September last year, leaving it with broken ribs, massive haemorrhaging, a bleeding liver and a brain injury.

He had initially claimed to ex-partner Demi Partington that Winston had fallen downstairs and into a bucket of bleach.

Prosecuting solicitor Peter Mitchell told the court: “He contacted her (Miss Partington) to say he had something to tell her, but it would upset her.

“Winston had died and he had killed him. He said he had to drown the dog because it fell downstairs into bleach. She went to the property and saw that the dog had been wrapped like a mummy.

“She noticed blood on the landing and in the kitchen and asked what happened. He told her that the dog had vomited.

“They took the dog to be buried and he asked her not to tell anyone. After that he became abusive via text but wasn’t aware that she had given a witness statement. After the dog’s body was recovered it was taken to the vets for a post mortem.

“This indicated a number of injuries. There were 11 rib fractures of varying ages. There was haemorrhaging of the chest and eye and the liver with blood going into the abdominal cavity. There were repeated episodes of blunt trauma.

“He was interviewed at length and initially denied the allegations, saying the dog had gone missing. When it was put to him that the dog had been in the house, he called her (Miss Partington) a liar.”

Smith’s defence solicitor Stephanie Varle responded: “Nothing I can say can take away the fact Winston’s life was prematurely ended at the hands of Mr Smith.

“This is a man who had a very dysfunctional upbringing and was severely beaten as a child. He had no way of knowing it was wrong. He found his mother dead in bed and watched his father die from cancer. He has also recently lost a grandfather and two uncles.

“He has had a sad time and regrettably took it out in the wrong way.”

While the magistrates said they were satisfied that the crime had crossed the custody threshold, they said they were concerned about his anger management issues. These would not be addressed by a short term in custody, they insisted.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison, suspended for two years. Smith must also carry out 300 hours unpaid work and they imposed a lifetime ban on keeping animals. He must also pay £1,000 in costs.