A 26-year-old man who shot his friend's dog 19 times with an airgun when he was supposed to be looking after him, has been jailed for five months.

Father-of-two Wade Beere from the Cynon Valley, south Wales, was sentenced on Wednesday after being convicted last month of causing unnecessary suffering to the dog - a tan and black cross bred terrier called Titch.

Aberdare Magistrates Court was told that Beere was asked to look the pet after his best friend was arrested.

But within two days, the bloodstained body of Titch was found in a street bin.

In what magistrates described as a "despicable act only imaginable in nightmares", 13 air pellets were found in his body, two in his neck and four more elsewhere.

'Animal lover'

The dog had also been stabbed.

Neighbours told the hearing that they heard Titch yelp in agony.

One told the court how he saw Beere come to the door of his house carrying an airgun.

Soon after he heard a loud noise of drums from the house interspersed with the dog crying.

This, he said, went on for 45 minutes.

The RSPCA inspector who investigated the cruelty - described it as one of the most "horrifying" cases he had come across.

Beere - who claimed to be an animal lover even doing work experience in an animal sanctuary before leaving school - said Titch had gone missing the night before neighbours heard him being shot.

He told RSPCA inspectors that he was unable to explain how bloodstains and airgun pellets were found inside his house.

Denying any ill treatment, Beere was sentenced in Aberdare on Wednesday, having been warned to expect a custodial sentence.