A man has been jailed for hanging a dog until it choked to death in an “appalling” act of cruelty.

Christopher Collyer, 25, was convicted today of killing the seven-year-old Springer Spaniel named Charlie in Keighley.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison by Bradford magistrates yesterday.

The court heard that Collyer had been given the dog by his parents, who were moving house and could not take Charlie with them.

The dog was found hanging in a concrete bunker in Hainsworth Woods, Keighley, by a member of the public on June 10 last year.

A prosecution witness had previously placed Collyer there on June 7.

Prosecuting for the RSPCA, Nigel Monaghan said: “This was appalling cruelty. It was a deliberate and what appears to have been a premeditated act by the defendant.

“What followed was what can only be described as a tissue of lies.

“In court he maintained his story that he had taken the dog for a walk, met a woman and given it to her.

“It is difficult to think of a worse example of animal cruelty given the degree of suffering he must have been subjected to.”

Sentencing Collyer formerly of Spring Bank Rise, Keighley, and now living in Morecambe, to 24 weeks in prison.

Banning him for life from keeping animals, chairman of the bench Shasta Asghar said: “The offences are so serious that the only suitable punishment is a prison sentence, given the level of cruelty the dog suffered before its death.”

In mitigation, Collyer’s solicitor Keith Blackwell, said: “He was very much left with the dog and living in Morecambe has engineered a change in his lifestyle.”

Collyer’s parents, Mandy Collyer, 47, and Ian Collyer, 56, now of West Byland, Illingworth, Halifax, had admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the animal by failing to provide veterinary care for Charlie, who was suffering a severe skin condition when he died, and were sentenced yesterday to community orders which included an unpaid work requirement of 200 hours and 160 hours respectively.

They were also issued with a three-year ban on keeping animals.

Speaking after the hearing, RSPCA Inspector David Holgate said: “I would like to thank the Telegraph & Argus for the original story appealing for the owners of the dog to come forward. Without that we might not have got to court.

“If we find offenders they will be prosecuted, especially for cruelty like this which is the worst I have seen in 15 years as an inspector.”