THE owner of a ‘fighting dog’ has been sentenced by the courts.

Colin Loughran was charged with possessing or having custody of a fighting dog.

The particulars of the charge stated that the dog involved is an XL bully named Jurgen, contrary to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

It followed an incident that occurred on February 12 in Widnes.

The 37-year-old, of Squires Avenue in Widnes, appeared before Warrington Magistrates’ Court recently to face the charge.

He entered a guilty plea and was ordered to pay a total of £232 by magistrates.

This is broken down into a fine of £80, costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £120 and a statutory surcharge to fund victim services of £32.

An application was made for this to be deducted from the defendant’s benefits.

The court also imposed a contingent destruction order for Jurgen the XL bully dog.

This will prevent the dog’s destruction provided that the conditions imposed are met.