A Leominster woman has been jailed and prohibited from owning animals for life after what prosecutors described as extreme levels of neglect and cruelty toward a dog. Lucy Marie Craddock, 27, appeared at Worcester Magistrates’ Court and was given a 16-week prison sentence after admitting to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, an American bulldog named Ocean.
Court papers refer to the conduct as extreme neglect and cruelty. The magistrates reviewed distressing photographs and said they could not accept Craddock had been unaware of Ocean’s suffering. On this basis, they concluded that only an immediate custodial sentence could be justified.
Craddock’s guilty plea was taken into account, but the court emphasised that the severity of the neglect warranted a prison term. In addition to the sentence, she was given a life ban on owning, keeping, or dealing in animals, or any role in which she could influence how an animal is kept. She is also barred from transporting animals or arranging transport for life. A £154 victim surcharge was also imposed.
