A WOMAN who left her dogs to starve has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years. Zara Dexter, 26, from, Willow Tree Lane, Hitchin, was today (Monday) given the order by Hemel Hempstead magistrates after Lucy, a Staffordshire bull terrier died and h

A WOMAN who left her dogs to starve has been banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

Zara Dexter, 26, from, Willow Tree Lane, Hitchin, was today (Monday) given the order by Hemel Hempstead magistrates after Lucy, a Staffordshire bull terrier died and her pup Rena was so hungry she had begun to eat her.

The RSPCA brought the case to court after welfare officers and police found the animals in squalid conditions at Dexter's home in June.

RSPCA inspector, Kirsty Hampton, said: "This was a horrific case. Rena was so desperate that she had no choice but to try to eat Lucy's body. Had she not been found, it is quite possible that she too would have died the slow death from starvation as her mother. I am just hopeful that the ban will prove sufficient to protect future animals from suffering the same fate."

In mitigation, Dexter cited health problems.

As well as the ban, she was also given a 12-month community order and told to pay �500 costs.