A WOMAN who had already been banned from keeping dogs appeared before Exeter Magistrates this week, charged with being in breach of the

order.

The court heard that Angela Clift, 62, had been convicted of neglect over the malnourished dogs which had fleas, suffered hair loss and had unclipped paws when they had lived at her home in Saltash. The property had been piled high with rubbish and littered with dead rats, and rodents had been running around the property.

She was banned from keeping dogs for two years and given a three-year conditional discharge.

But Exeter magistrates heard she then left the area and later ended up living in a static home on a farm at Bridestowe — with two more dogs she was banned from keeping.

When she was confronted about breaching the ban by an RSPCA inspector, she claimed she was called Jean Smith — but the two dogs, a Collie cross Springer called Mac and a Lakeland terrier called George — were both chipped and registered in Clift's name, as was her car parked by her caravan.

The court heard the two dogs have been in kennels since last July.

The RSPCA reported that the investigation, boarding kennel fees and court costs totalled £13,000, said prosecutor John Wyatt.

Defence lawyer Alison Prior, who represented Angela Clift, who was not in court because she was unwell, said: 'Dogs are very important in her life. She does not have a great deal of money, if any money at all.'

Magistrates banned her from keeping dogs for four years. They said Mac and George could be re-homed but did not order any costs for her breach of the previous ban.