THE ill treatment of a St Bernard dog in Leigh was used to highlight the plight of animal suffering at the hands of pet owners in the North-west.

The abandoned dog called Neika was in great pain and was unrecognisable as a St Bernard when it was spotted by an RSPCA inspector.

The five-year-old unwanted pet had lost most of its coat, was underweight with ringworm, lice infestation, scabs, eye problems and an ear infection.

The North-west branch of the RSPCA revealed that the case of the dog's ill suffering was far from unique in the region. RSPCA inspectors investigated 13,658 cruelty complaints last year.

In Bolton alone more than 2,000 cruelty complaints were investigated and more than 50 people were convicted of cruelty to animals. The figures are comparable with the previous year. The owners of Neika the St Bernard, Stanley and Hazel Raymond, initially tried to claim that the dog was a stray they had found in a park in Leigh.

But an RSPCA investigation confirmed they were the owners and also owned two other dogs.

The couple eventually admitted they had not sought treatment for Neika as they could not afford the bills. They were both banned from keeping animals for life by Wigan magistrates last October after being found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Neika.

Mrs Raymond was also fined £750 and her husband was given a 180 hour community punishment order.

The RSPCA highlighted the suffering of a 14-year-old collie dog in Westhoughton described as one of the worst cases of neglect over the last ten years.

The 14-year-old dog, called Digby, had not been let out of his owner's kitchen for months.

Veterinary surgeons clipped away his fur, which was covered in filth, and discovered he had lost nearly 10 kg in weight.

RSPCA Inspector Elizabeth Walker, who discovered Digby, said: "There is no excuse whatsoever for not seeking veterinary treatment for an animal that clearly needs it. Digby was in a terrible state. I first thought he was a rug on the floor, but then he moved and I realised I was looking at an animal."

Commenting on the cruelty cases in the North-west RSPCA, regional superintendent Bill Cottingham said: "RSPCA inspectors continue to be shocked by the suffering endured by far too many animals in this region.

"The images from some of these cases will stay with our inspectors for a long time."