A WIRRAL man has been jailed for three months after he killed his puppy by throwing it against a wall.

Shaun David Skinner, of Virginia Road, New Brighton, threw his six-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier "Ty" in October after discovering it had urinated and defecated in the bedroom.

The 24-year-old – who admitted killing the dog when he first appeared before Wirral magistrates in March - said he had not intended to hurt it in that way.

On Monday he was jailed for 12 weeks and was banned from owning or keeping animals for life.

Skinner had only owned the dog for three weeks when he called police on October 28 to tell them what he had done.

RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes attended Skinner’s previous address on Gamlin Street, Birkenhead, with police and found several patches of blood on the floor and stairs before discovering Ty dead in the bath.

Chris Murphy, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA said Skinner had taken the dog for a walk in the park earlier that day.

After returning home, the brindle and white dog went to play upstairs while Skinner played on his Xbox.

It was during that time that Ty urinated and defecated in the bedroom.

On discovering what the dog had done, the court heard that Skinner grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and threw it at the wall, causing it to hit its head.

Under police interview, Skinner said he had no intention of hurting the animal in that way but had been “fuming”.

Skinner has no previous animal cruelty convictions but does suffer with anger management problems and had not been taking his tablets in the weeks before the incident.

At the hearing in March, Mr Murphy said: “He thought the dog had just been knocked out but when he went over to the animal he realised things were more serious.

“He tried to revive him and gave him mouth to mouth and started some form of cardiac attempts.

“He thought the dog was coming back around and it started coughing and spluttering. He said blood was coming out of its mouth.

"He said he had never owned a dog previously, accepted he was guilty and was gutted by what he had done."

Following sentencing, RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes said: “This was a horrific case of brutal violence against a defenceless young dog and yet again it is a Staffordshire bull terrier that has paid the ultimate price due to its cruel owner's actions.

“The scene upon my arrival was shocking.

“We are completely zero tolerance on this sort of abhorrent behaviour.

“Inflict violent acts on your animals and you can expect to be put in front of magistrates and, just like today, you may well face prison.”