A WOMAN who tore a budgie apart "like a piece of paper" in front of her 16 year-old son has been banned from keeping another pet.

Teesside magistrates heard how Christine Lawson, 45, vented her anger on the bird following a family dispute.

Police officers were called after an argument broke out between Mrs Lawson, who was drunk, and her son and daughter.

They were trying to calm the situation when, without warning, she went to the budgie cage and grabbed Joey, her son's pet.

Simon Catterall, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told how she began squeezing the bird with both hands.

Despite her son's obvious distress, she then started to rip off its wings "in a tearing motion, like a piece of paper."

Finally, she squashed the budgie and threw it to the floor, leaving it battered and trembling.

To save it from further suffering, the officers broke its neck, and a post-mortem examination later revealed that virtually every other bone in its body was broken.

Mrs Lawson, who was later arrested, had only vague recollections of the incident when she was interviewed by the RSPCA.

Mr Catterall said: "It was clear that the defendant didn't remember much about it. There wasn't a great deal of remorse from her."

In a statement, Mrs Lawson, of Granville Road, Middlesbrough, said: "I thought I would put it out of its misery. I loved that bird."

Defending, Karen Hart described how Mrs Lawson's marriage break-up had resulted in alcoholism and depression, and said that she was "mortified" by what she had done, pleading guilty straight away.

She was sentenced to 12 months' probation, including treatment for her problems, ordered to pay £100 costs and banned from keeping animals in the future.

Kevin Foy, an RSPCA inspector, said: "It was a deliberate act of wanton cruelty."

He added: "It was obvious that her actions would cause a considerable amount of distress, which was reflected in the sentence.