The owners of an illegal Dagenham puppy farm where dogs were kept in "terrible" conditions have been sentenced at court.

Raimundas Pazdrazdis, 54, his son Edgaras Pazdrazdis, 27, and his brother Sigtas Pazdrazdis, 45, ran the operation from a property they lived at in Sterry Road.

The three men were each sentenced at Romford Magistrates Court to 12-month community orders of unpaid work and ordered to pay a total of £85,000 costs.

Raimundas Pazdrazdis was banned from keeping dogs for seven years, Sigtas Pazdrazdis for five years and Edgaras Pazdrazdis for three years.

The case followed a complaint to Barking and Dagenham Council in October 2019 about the purchase of a puppy whose health deteriorated quickly after it was taken home.

The complaint led to a probe into unlicensed dog breeding activity and council enforcement officers raided the Sterry Road property in December 2019.

A council spokesperson said the officers found nine dogs including huskies, pitbull terriers (which were being sold as Staffordshire terriers) and a French bulldog living in "terrible" conditions.

They added: "One dog was chained up and another in a small cage and both were left in their faeces with no clean water. Others were being kept in a dirty bathroom."

Barking and Dagenham Post: Council officers raided the property in Sterry Road after an investigationCouncil officers raided the property in Sterry Road after an investigation (Image: Barking and Dagenham Council)

The dogs were being sold for up to £700 each and the council seized the remaining nine dogs.

The three men were found guilty of a string of offences under the Animal Welfare and Dangerous Dogs Acts.

Raimundas Pazdrazdis was convicted of 16 offences; Sigtas Pazdrazdis, who owned two of the dogs, was convicted of 12 and pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a pitbull terrier and Edgaras Pazdrazdis was convicted of two offences.

Councillor Syed Ghani, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, called the convictions "a fantastic result".

He said: “We won’t stand for dogs or any other animal being treated in this despicable way and if we find out somebody is mistreating them, we will make sure that we go all out to take the strongest action.”

The sentencing took place on July 22.

Anyone who has concerns about puppy farm operations is asked to report it to grimecrime@lbbd.gov.uk.