Drunken puppy killer is a kind man at heart, says mum

THE mother of a man jailed for drunkenly stamping two puppies to death after a row with his girlfriend has told how his actions were completely "out-of-character".

• Edinburgh Sheriff Court

Stuart Adams, 36, admitted killing the pups and assaulting partner Lorraine Hogg at his home in Stevenson Avenue on January 22 this year.

Yesterday, Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard how Ms Hogg's adult dog, a cross between a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and a collie, had run to protect her owner after she was punched by Adams and hit her head on a cupboard door.

Fiscal depute Claire Bottomley said Adams then kicked the dog before going to where her litter of eight two-week-old puppies lay and stamping two of them to death.

Sheriff Isabella McColl sentenced Adams to nine months in jail and banned him for life from keeping animals.

She told the court: "I have never come across anything like that before."

After sentencing, Adams' mother Elizabeth Adams said she was "devastated" by her son's crimes but stressed that he was filled with "genuine remorse".

"Stuart is a very personable man and kind-hearted," she said. "He is a vulnerable person with mental health issues and a problem with alcohol.

"In the end it was his choice, albeit an inappropriate choice. I am devastated by this and it is totally out of character.

"He showed immediate remorse and it is not like him. I commended him for saying 'mum, I did it' but he still doesn't know why he did it. From what I have been told he doesn't remember what happened.

"He is not coping with custody very well, his mind is clouded with anxiety and remorse - and it's genuine remorse. I just hope there will be some type of help for him while he is in prison."

In court, Adams' solicitor Kim Schofield said alcohol had played a large role in the episode and that her client had shown a high level of remorse and had been very distressed by the narration. While on remand in Saughton he had been targeted by other prisoners, she added.

A neighbour, who declined to be identified, said: "All this happened because his friend gave him too much drink and he couldn't handle it.

"I don't think he knew what he was doing. He has lived here all his life and has always been a nice lad.

"It's just what drink does to people. But if his friends weren't filling up with drink this wouldn't have happened.

"It's very sad. He shouldn't be going to prison because he will only come out worse. He should be getting treatment."

Scottish SPCA Inspector Tracy McNaughton welcomed the nine-month jail term for Adams and said: "This was a horrendous act of cruelty as these puppies suffered a horrible, painful death. A prison sentence and life ban on keeping animals is an entirely appropriate sentence for such a crime."