A 14-WEEK-OLD old puppy has been seized from an address in Whitby after a woman ignored a lifetime order banning her from owning a dog.

Yesterday (Tuesday, March 20) police and RSPCA officers executed a warrant in the seaside town.

A 27-year-old woman living at the address had previously been issued with a lifetime banning order in respect of cruelty to dogs.

In 2012, Cleveland Magistrates' Court convicted her of four offences under the Animal Welfare Act.

Due to the severity of the cruelty, described by one RSPCA officer as "one of the worse cases of suffering they had ever seen" and which resulted in one of the animals being put to sleep, the banning order prevented the woman from "owning or participating in keeping any animals, or from controlling or influencing the way they are kept".

Scarborough and Ryedale’s Neighbourhood Policing Team Sergeant said: "Police and the RSPCA do not take the decision to seize dogs lightly and the court will only issue a lifetime ban on keeping animals in the most extreme of cases.

"The reasons for issuing such an order is to protect animals from an environment and people whereby they may be subject to neglect and cruelty.

"North Yorkshire Police will always take robust action against those people who pose a risk to animals and have a complete disregard for the conditions imposed by the courts."

The puppy has been placed in care and an investigation is ongoing.