IT is an horrific case, but one which is typical of the scale of animal abuse seen in the North-East.

Misty, a 17-year-old black and white collie cross, was zipped inside a sports bag and left to die on a rubbish tip under the A19 flyover in Stockton-on-Tees.

Jammed inside the bag for two days, the dog was only discovered when a workman heard her whimpering.

Her hind quarters were heavily infested with maggots, and covered in ulcers.

But, against all the odds, Misty made a full recovery after antibiotic treatment and was found a loving home for the final year of her life.

Her story is one of hundreds of animal cruelty cases in the North-East and Yorkshire, highlighted in figures released by the RSPCA today.

For the seventh year running, the region has topped the country, with 825 convictions last year, compared with 655 in 1999 - an increase of 11 per cent.

The figure is ten times higher than London, which saw 86 convictions last year, and more than four times higher than Wales.

Alan Wolinski, RSPCA regional manager for Yorkshire and the North-East, said: "Every day our staff are picking up the pieces after people who take on animals decide they no longer want them, or fail to care for them properly, then stand by and watch them suffer.

"The responsibility rests with us all to try to prevent animal cruelty."

Research by Manchester Metropolitan University reveals that educating youngsters from an early age on animal abuse could help prevent cruelty.

Peer pressure was a factor and disturbingly, some of the 1,000 children and 100 adults questioned thought cruelty was a normal stage of growing up.

The RSPCA has launched an educational package for schools, alongside work carried out by the society's education officers.

The Northern Echo launched its Animal Watch campaign over a year ago in conjunction with the RSPCA.

The campaign was started specifically to tackle the North-East's reputation as the cruelty capital of Britain.

The campaign has been praised by the RSPCA for its role in promoting animal welfare, helping The Northern Echo win the charity's award for regional newspaper of the year last year.

It is hoped that education will help stop pets such as Misty suffering ordeals.

The man who dumped her, Stanley Jackson, 49, of Berner Street, Middlesbrough, was jailed for a month after pleading guilty to neglecting the collie and abandoning her.

Meanwhile Obi, a tan-coloured spaniel cross puppy, suffered a fractured jaw after being thrown twice from a 70ft railway bridge in Ashington, Northumberland.

John Durant, 18, of Broomlee, Ashington, was convicted of causing unnecessary suffering, jailed for six months and banned from keeping animals for 25 years.

Obi made a full recovery

Read more about the Animal Watch campaign here.