A woman has been jailed for the prolonged neglect of her pets, including two puppies which slowly starved to death over a period of six weeks.

Tiffany Starkey, 24, was locked up for four months and banned for life from keeping animals by Bradford magistrates yesterday.

She had pleaded guilty to five animal cruelty charges including failing to provide food and water for the six-month-old terriers – a post-mortem examination revealed starvation was the cause of their deaths.

She also admitted failing to provide suitable living conditions and an adequate diet to a Siberian husky and a corn snake – the reptile had no light source and was being kept in a cage too small for its needs, the court heard at a previous hearing.

Sentencing Starkey, who lived at Greyfriar Walk, Horton Bank Top, when the offences were committed last May, chairman of the bench Peter Walker said: “We feel custody is the only option for these offences as they are so serious.

“We deem this matter as prolonged neglect for all the animals, particularly the puppies.”

The hearing was told Starkey had claimed she had entrusted the care of the animals to someone else – a Lizzy Stone, but failed to provide an address or a phone number for her.

Nigel Monaghan, for the RSPCA, said the charity believed Miss Stone was fictional.

Of the puppies, he said: “They were soaking wet, coated in their own urine and faeces, totally filthy.

“They were completely emaciated.”

In mitigation for Starkey, solicitor Damian Walsh described photos taken by an RSPCA inspector as depicting the dogs as in a “grotesque parody of sleep”, and admitted no-one could fail to be moved by the images, including Starkey, whom he said was sorry for what she had done.

After the hearing RSPCA inspector Emma Brook said: “I am very happy with the outcome, it reflects the severity of the case, it was an horrific case.

“We are very happy the husky and snake will now go to loving homes.”