Lorraine Peake's doberman and cats ate each other after she left them at her old house

Cruel: Lorraine Peake's doberman and cats ate each other after she left them at her old house

Four cats and a pet dog were forced to each other to stay alive after their owner abandoned them for three months, a court heard.

Lorraine Peake, 48, left her cross-bred doberman and four white cats to starve to death in squalor when she moved house in March this year.

A relative found the horrific scene and alerted the police when they visited the shabby terraced house in Bolton, Lancashire on June 6.

Alcoholic Peake pleaded guilty to five counts of  causing unnecessary suffering to an animal between May 13 and May 27 when she appeared at Bolton Magistrates Court on Friday.

The court heard that Peake, aged 48, had not been living at the house for the  previous three months and had gone into rehab two days before officers were  called.

Former pub landlady claimed that she paid a man called Andy £50 to look  after the animals, but could not provide any further details to the RSPCA.

She walked past the house several times and knew the animals were inside but did not go inside to check on them.

The court was told that one of the cats had been dead for up to 19 days and was  'feasted upon by the surviving animals'.

The other animals survived longer while eating the carcass but had been dead between seven and 10 days when they were found.

Magistrates were shown pictures of the appalling conditions that the animals were forced to live in.

Tony Stock, prosecuting, said: 'The police were met with a smell that was overwhelming  and there was rubbish and animal faeces throughout the property.

Squalor: The animals died three months after they were left in the rubbish strewn kitchen at the terraced house

'The dog was found in the kitchen, lying across a chair, with its ribs showing  through the fur. It was emaciated and had maggots dripping from it.

'In the living room there was a thick layer of faeces along the window.

'The RSPCA inspector formed the opinion that the animals were left to their own devices for a long time.

'There was no food or water in the house and all the windows were shut.'

Filth: Faeces was found in in the house where the pets had been eating and sleeping

RSPCA inspector Jason Bowles said after the case: 'This is the most extreme case of this type that I have been involved with.

' It does not get any worse than when  your animals have to eat each other in desperation to try and survive, and then  die of dehydration and starvation.

'I will never forget that scene because it was so distressing.'

Stephen Teasdale, defending, said: 'The defendant is a vulnerable person, and accepts she  should have checked what he (Andy) was doing.

'She was struggling with alcohol and a side effect is that she would tend to  fit, so it was not safe for her to be alone and she was unable to live at the  address.'

 Magistrates adjourned the case for a report from the probation service and  warned that all sentencing options would be considered on November 19.

Later a neighbour said: 'She could barely look after herself. It's a shame  because the animals could have been put in a shelter or something. They did not  need to die like that.'