A couple have admitted causing the deaths of three kittens which they abandoned at their Bradford home.

Neil Binner-Miller, 26, and Helen Dootson-Sharman, 19, both of Hart Street, Great Horton, also pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to two cats and a dog by failing to provide them with an adequate diet.

The animals, which belonged to Dootson-Sharman, were found last June after an RSPCA officer forced her way into the couple’s former home in Beecroft Walk, Allerton, Bradford magistrates heard today.

Nigel Monaghan, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said Binner-Miller had left the flat a week before the animals were found and Dootson-Sharman was not living there at the time.

He said: “The inspector found that the flat was in a terrible condition. She described the smell as being over powering. No food or water was provided. She found all of the animals in a very thin bodily condition. All were covered with fleas.”

An RSPCA vet said he was “satisfied” the kittens, believed to be three-weeks old, died from malnutrition and had been without food and water “for a period of not less than five to seven days and probably longer”, Mr Monaghan said.

A black cat, the mother of the kittens, had lost almost a third of her body weight while the dog, a German Shepherd, was 21 per cent under weight, the court was told.

Tests carried out on the surviving animals showed there was no other cause for their weight loss other than a lack of food and all three gained weight rapidly after being taken into RSPCA care, Mr Monaghan said.

He added: “Had the RSPCA not been contacted by a member of the public and not forced entry into the property one can only wonder what would have happened to the other animals.”

Mitigating on behalf of Dootson-Sharman, who also admitted an additional charge of failing to provide a suitable living environment for the animals, solicitor Stuart Carter said his client suffered from learning disabilities and had experienced problems in the past.

Bench chairman Peter Holmes adjourned the case until February 11 for pre-sentence reports.

He said a community order should be considered as well a contribution towards the costs of the case and a disqualification from keeping animals for a “lengthy period”.