A couple have been banned from keeping animals for ten years after a Court heard how dead guinea pigs were found inside hutches at their home.

A neighbour called in to look after their Labrador puppy while they were out was shocked to see two baby guinea pigs trying to feed off their dead mother, Bradford magistrates were told.

Some of the dead animals appeared to have been cannibalised by the others. The hutches were dirty, there were flies everywhere and a horrible smell, the court heard.

Clifford Bacon, 18, and Claire Lumb, 20, pleaded guilty to four charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Bacon, now living at his sister's home in Barden Avenue, Buttershaw, was ordered to do 100 hours unpaid work in the community and pay £100 costs.

Lumb, now of Moore Close Avenue, Queensbury, was conditionally discharged for two years, and had to pay £100 costs.

Nigel Monaghan, prosecuting, said 17 guinea pigs were kept at the couple's home in Hollingwood Court, Great Horton, last May.

One Sunday evening, Bacon asked neighbour Kerry Learoyd to "puppy sit" for them. When she went into the flat the next day with a friend, she saw three hutches on the balcony.

Two baby guinea pigs were running around one of the hutches, and when she opened it, she found the mother dead, and two of the babies were trying to suckle off their dead mother.

There were dead baby animals inside the other hutches, said Mr Monaghan, and no food or water was found. The RSPCA was alerted and vet Simon Thomas was asked to examine the animals.

He found the remains of four baby guinea pigs, which had been dead for several days. An adult female, who had been dead for two to three days, had bite wounds caused by babies trying to feed off her.

Several live guinea pigs had skin infections. Mr Thomas concluded that there had been a failure to provide care and attention.

Six of the dead animals were so decomposed that it was impossible to establish a cause of death, and the RSPCA would only prosecute where they could prove that death was due to failure to provide proper care and attention, said Mr Monaghan.

Cathy Hodge, mitigating, said Lumb was pregnant at the time of the offences and her partner was absent as there were problems with the relationship.

"She was landed with a large number of animals and not coping very well," added Miss Hodge. "She is incredibly full of remorse for what happened."

The relationship had since broken down, and Bacon was no longer living there.

Bench chairman, Peter Fellows, told Bacon that he bore a lot of the responsibility as he should have taken a more responsible attitude.

"You should have perhaps contacted the RSPCA and sought some help," he said.