A GWENT man left a savagely mutilated greyhound to die in agony on a lonely mountainside.

A court heard yesterday that the male greyhound, Charlie - also known as Rusty, and his racing name, Last Hope - was found with horrific head injuries and his ears cut off in a hollow on Fochriw mountain by a dog walker on May 2.

The animal later had to be put to sleep.

Andrew Gough, aged 28, of Morrison Street, Blackwood, who was paid a fee of £10 to put the dog down, failed to turn up for the court hearing before Blackwood magistrates yesterday, but was convicted in his absence of mistreating an animal. A warrant was issued for his arrest and sentencing was adjourned.

Gough pleaded not guilty to the charge at an earlier hearing.

Martyn Prowel, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said Charlie was "conscious but immobile" and was taken to Valley Vet, in Cardiff.

"The dog was very distressed and unable to stand up on its legs and was obviously in a lot of pain," vet Timothy Ingham said.

"Both ears had been cut off and there was a hole in the top of its forehead."

He said something "mechanical" had been used to penetrate the dog's skull, and that he had suffered "prolonged and extreme suffering".

He had no choice but to put Charlie down.

Mr Prowel said the dog's owner, John Hurley, asked Charlie's trainer, Mark Emmett, to arrange for the dog to be put down after it suffered a foot injury and became lame. Mr Emmett told the court he asked Andrew Gough to humanely destroy the dog.

He said Charlie was not suitable for rehoming, as he was too aggressive to be a pet - and that Gough collected the dog on April 30.

"He said he was a humane killer and would put him in a hole and cover him in lime," said Mr Emmett.

During police interviews, Gough denied harming the dog or having any conversations about Charlie with Mr Hurley and Mr Emmett, or accepting any money.

But chairman of the magistrates Jeanette Knight said the bench had found the witnesses "credible and reliable".

After the hearing, RSPCA inspector Simon Evans said that it was "as savage and callous an act as I have ever seen".

"The dog was totally incapacitated - but he was still wagging his tail," he said.

"He could have been there for a long time."

Alain Thomas, spokesman for Greyhound Rescue Wales, which demonstrated outside Gough's court hearings, called for the maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment to be imposed.