A PITBULL type dog has been spared from destruction after its owner said the animal was a family pet with a lovely nature.

Blackburn magistrates heard getting Mia back from police kennels will cost Sunil Ahmed up to £1,000.

But he said he was happy to pay to get his pet back home and would foot the bill.

The court heard the dog had been bought as a six-week-old puppy from “a man in the park” who said it was a Staffordshire bull terrier cross.

Mr Ahmed said he had no reason to doubt the man, who he didn’t know, and because he liked the puppy had gone home and got £250 to pay for it.

And he said bitch Mia, who is now 11-months-old, had become a loved member of the family.

Police confiscated the dog after it was identified as a banned breed and applied for a destruction order.

District judge James Clarke said he didn’t have to make an immediate order for the dog to be destroyed because he was satisfied the dog was not a danger to the public.

He made a contingent destruction order which imposes conditions with which Mr Ahmed must comply or the dog will be destroyed.

The conditions include the dog being neutered, micro-chipped and tattooed, insured and muzzled and on a lead when in public.

Sharon Cottam, for Lancashire Constabulary, said the police did not represent that Mia was anything other than a family pet but she had been identified as a banned breed.

Mr Ahmed, 24, of Furness Avenue, Blackburn, said he accepted that Mia was a pitbull type. He said she was a friendly and playful dog who had become part of the family.

He said his parents had not been happy when the police got involved but they appreciated the situation and were happy to have the dog home as long as all the legal obligations were complied with.

Miss Cottam was granted £770 costs to cover legal and kennelling fees.

The judge also allowed further costs to cover kennelling until all the requirements of the contingency order are complied with and the dog can be released back to its owner.