A Gloucestershire man who beat his pet dog has received a lifetime ban from keeping animals.

Members of the public in Matson, Gloucester, reported seeing a man beating an English Bull Terrier on September 15 and after police seized the dog, vets discovered he had other injuries thought to be caused by abuse.

Paul Fowler, 40, of Matson in Gloucester, received the ban at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, June 1, after previously pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

A police spokesperson said: "There was lots of social media attention about the incident, so much so that a woman contacted us as she had seen Fowler beating his dog months earlier in Kings Walk.

"In total we had six witnesses to Fowler's actions and we hope that this conviction shows how we will not tolerate animal abuse here in Gloucestershire.

As well as the ban, Fowler received a two-month sentence that was suspended for 12 months and has conditions with which he must now comply.

The dog was rehomed at Christmas and is now being cared for by a family who has owned dogs for a number of years.

Ensuring the welfare of animals falls under the county’s Police and Crime Plan priority of "a compassionate approach" and the animal was seized under the Animal Welfare Act.