A DOG owner who killed an 11-week-old puppy with a knife because it bit her has been banned from keeping animals for life.

Sherie Taylor killed the Staffordshire cross in a rage, a court was told.

The 30-year-old, now of St Cuthbert's Avenue, in South Shields, had driven the 12cm blade into the animal with such force x-rays showed it almost went straight through its body.

It is the latest event in a chain of incidents that have made the North-East the country's worst area for animal cruelty

Neighbours at the flat Taylor shared with her partner in Sunderland reported hearing Taylor scream "I've killed my baby", before begging them to help save the black-and-white pup, Monty, which RSPCA inspectors say took 25 minutes to die.

Taylor was given a six-month prison sentence by Sunderland magistrates on Friday, and banned from keeping animals for life, after pleading guilty to a charge of animal cruelty.

She wept in the dock as Clive McKeag, prosecuting, told the court of an "appalling case", which took place on the night of January 28.

He read out a statement from her partner, Trevor Willis, who said Taylor had drunk eight cans of lager before the attack.

He found the dog still alive, with a wooden knife handle sticking out of its back.

Magistrates were visibly distressed as they saw photos of the dead puppy and a blood-spattered couch in the flat.

Mr McKeag said: "There is no excuse for these quite disgraceful actions."

Taylor told police she had owned the puppy for two weeks, and complained it was badly behaved. She said: "It just got on my nerves - his constant crying and his obsessiveness with me."

She admitted to officers and RSPCA inspectors how she killed the puppy.

Nigel Barnes, mitigating, said Taylor had been due to see a psychiatrist before the attack, and was now taking medication for her mental health problems.

Mr Barnes told the court Taylor's partner had thrown her out following the puppy's death, and she had been living rough on the streets of Sunderland, where she had relapsed into a drink problem.

RSPCA Inspector Mark Gent said it was one of the longest prison terms he had seen in his seven-years with the charity.

He said: "I feel the sentence reflected the serious nature of the offence."