A DOG had to be put down after it suffered a broken leg and severe scalding after pulling a kettle full of boiling water on its own head, a court heard.

Lee Kershaw, 36, took the blame after his female Staffordshire bull terrier Metaxa was allowed to run loose from his girlfriend Natalie Stephen’s home in Tavistock Street, Nelson, Reedley Magistrates’ Court was told.

Christopher Wyatt, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA said, the dog had gone missing and returned with what turned out to a broken leg and puncture wounds.

Kershaw, who has from pancreatitis, was in the bath and Miss Stephens was looking after him, the court heard.

There was a loud bang and they discovered the dog looking wet. It appeared Metaxa had somehow pulled the kettle down from a nearby counter.

When the couple woke the next day it was clear the dog had been seriously scalded. They took Metaxa to a vet but her injuries were so serious she had to be put down.

Vet Robin Hargreaves alerted the RSPCA after an x-ray showed the dog had a broken leg and he observed bite marks on her body.

Mr Wyatt said it was a ‘mystery’ as to how the dog had suffered a broken leg and the bite marks.

But he added: “The clear factor is that something should have been done to prevent the dog getting these injuries.”

The incident happened in October 2011 but Kershaw has only now appeared in court after serving a 27-month prison sentence for threatening his partner’s ex-boyfriend with a hammer in Brierfield.

Kershaw, formerly of Earnshaw Road, Bacup, now living in Rochdale, admitted failing to take reasonable steps to prevent injury to Metaxa. He was fined £110 with £85 costs and banned from keeping animals for 10 years.