Houghton-le-Spring man in court accused of killing pet dog Winnie who went missing from home
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLiveA man has denied killing a pet dog which went missing from its home.
Martin Rollinson is accused of causing unnecessary suffering to Lakeland Terrier, Winnie, in September last year. She had been reported missing by her owners and a community search was launched before her body was found in South Shields.
Now Rollinson has appeared at Newcastle Crown court charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal between September 1 and 10 2023, in that he allegedly inflicted injury and death and ought to have known the act would cause unnecessary suffering or been likely to do so.
Keep up to date with all the latest court news from the North East with our free newsletter
Rollinson, 34, of Blossom Street, Houghton-le-Spring, pleaded not guilty and will stand trial on December 1 next year. Judge Paul Sloan KC released him on conditional bail and told him: "If, and I stress the word if, you have committed any offence or offences arising out of this allegation, the sooner you tell the court, the better for you, the more credit you will receive, he less severe the punishment will be.
"The longer you leave it to tell the court if you have committed an offence, the worse it will be for you, the more severe the punishment will be."
When Winnie went missing, a community group was set up on social media, with her owners later thanking members of the public for their help in the search.
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community