A WOMAN with credit card debts of £20,000 allowed her two pet dogs to starve to death.

Magistrates heard that when one of the dogs died it was eaten by its desperate companion.

Marianne Stribling, 27, of Elliott Close, Whiddon Valley, claimed she let the animals perish in agony in her back yard because she could not afford to buy them food.

At Barnstaple Magistrates' Court she admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the dogs as well as one charge of failing to feed properly a pet rabbit.

Prosecuting solicitor Simon Browner told the court that RSPCA inspector Jim Farr went to Stribling's home on October 23 last year.

In a back yard he found a thin rabbit in a hutch, the court was told.

He then noticed a fenced-off area and a garden shed, which was shut closed with nails, and a powerful smell of decaying animals.

Mr Farr opened the shed and, by the light of a torch, saw a dead dog, matted fur, teeth, and bones.

He called the police, who arrived at 9.50pm and seized the animal remains. The RSPCA took photographs and seized the rabbit, which was later put down.

In a statement referred to in court, PC Andy Wills said the overwhelming stench in the shed, which also included a surfboard and a child's tricycle, was one of the worst he had ever experienced.

A vet concluded that one of the animals had been a young German Shepherd crossbreed bitch, which had been dead for about five days. A post mortem examination showed the dog, which had been named Charm, had probably been starving for weeks and was about half its normal weight when it died.

Mr Browner told the court the fur, teeth and bones found in the shed belonged to another dog, called Prince. A vet concluded that Prince had starved to death and was then eaten by Charm, before Charm starved to death.

Stribling told police she thought one of the dogs had eaten the other and said the pets had been "ignored" for three weeks. She described her own actions as "absolutely disgraceful".

Defence solicitor Angela Shoemark-Smith said Stribling had a £20,000 credit card debt and no means of paying a fine.

She said her client had been promised a supply of food for Charm which never arrived. Stribling had admitted that not being able to afford to buy dog food was no excuse for letting the animals starve to death.

Mrs Shoemark Smith told the court: "She knows there were things she could have done. She was scared because of the consequences. She is disgusted with herself."

Stribling will be sentenced on February 19 and has been warned she could go to jail.

● If you suspect an animal is being mistreated, you can ring the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234999. The North Devon Animal Ambulance rehomes pets and can provide advice; their number is 01237 476237 or 07817 995751 (in an emergency).