Six jailed over huge dog-fight

Six men have been jailed for their involvement in the largest organised dog-fight uncovered in England since 1867.

The defendants, aged between 26 and 43, received sentences from four to six months for various charges in relation to the event, which took place at a kitchen showroom in Birmingham.

Barkat Hussain, Intikab Hussain, Sohail Hussain, Zahir Ahmed, Ummar Ahmed, and Zahoor Hussain were told they had been involved in an "abhorrent activity" as they were sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates' Court.

A seventh man, Waqqas Mughal, 18, a youth at the time of the dog-fight, received a four-month detention and training order.

Sentencing the seven defendants in court, District Judge Khalid Qureshi said: "It (dog-fighting) is an abhorrent activity that is, in my view, so serious that it can only be dealt with by immediate sentences of custody."

He added: "Had the police not acted to force entry into the premises then the fight, in my view, would have continued until one or even both of the dogs had died in that pit."

A three-week trial held earlier this year was told that a total of 26 men were found at the fight in Alum Rock, which claimed the lives of two pit bull terriers.

The contest in February last year led to the largest number of arrests at a dog fight since 32 people were detained at an event in Southwark, London, during the reign of Queen Victoria.

Nineteen other defendants, including 14 who pleaded guilty, were fined between £500 and £1,400 at earlier hearings for attending the event.

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