Man jailed for cruelty to dogs found in ‘appalling’ conditions

A man has been jailed for keeping 18 collie dogs in “appalling” conditions at his caravan home in Iddesleigh in Devon.

Police were called to the caravan in February last year after 61-year-old Stephen Sturman was reported missing.

Exeter magistrates court heard officers found the dogs living in crowded conditions inside, undernourished and underweight.

Sturman, who now lives in Kent, admitted cruelty and was jailed for 12 months and banned from keeping any animals for life. His wife, Rachel, now living in Okehampton, also admitted cruelty and was given a suspended prison sentence.

Police went to the caravan where they were initially refused entry by Sturman’s wife Rachel.

But officers entered the property to investigate an overwhelming smell.

Vets said the dogs were suffering from neglect, anxiety, fear and helplessness and said three had died as they were attacked by other dogs.

Two dead dogs were dumped in bags in the garden, a third was left feet away from the caravan and had been trodden on as the owners came and went.

Sturman’s estranged wife, Rachel, a 53-year-old store manager from Okehampton, was jailed for 10 months, suspended for 18 months, and banned from keeping any animals for 15 years.

Both Sturmans admitted cruelty to 18 collie dogs and failing to stop two dogs from being fatally attacked by other dogs, as well as failing to take reasonable steps to ensure the needs of all the dogs.

They were ordered to pay £2,000 each towards the RSPCA costs.

The dogs have since been rehomed.

The prosecution said the dogs slept on the owners’ beds inside the caravan and said only three of them had ever been outside.

District Judge Stuart Smith said: “Conditions in that caravan were appalling and the condition of the dogs was horrific and horrendous.

“I have never seen an environment in such an appalling state. The caravan was utterly uninhabitable.”

Solicitor Rob Jacobs, defending Mrs Sturman, said: “She loved those animals like they were her own.

“She was trapped in that situation and that relationship. No one can live like that but that is how she was living.”