A MAN who used a Stanley knife and a bottle of antiseptic to dock the tails of five puppies has been banned from keeping dogs for two years.

Simon Kenyon illegally cut off the tails of the Jack Russell pups, who were only a few days old, in a botched DIY operation at his home.

He mistakenly sliced through the vertebrae leaving the bone exposed and two of the pups needing surgery, a court heard.

Kenyon, 25, of Hartshead Avenue, Ashton under Lyne, claimed he was selling the pups for £400 to a farmer who wanted the tails docking first.

He said he researched ways to perform the amputation on the internet before carrying out the crude surgery with a pal.

A friend held the dogs down on a table while Kenyon docked the tails.

Kenyon, an unemployed labourer, was living at girlfriend Sheryl Beckwith's home in Dean Street, Ashton, at the time of the incident in July last year.

RSPCA inspectors visited the house after a tip-off.

Two pups had to undergo surgery and the other three dogs were immediately re-homed.

Kenyon, who had claimed he didn't know tail docking was against the law, was disqualified from keeping dogs for two years and ordered to pay £250 costs.

He was also put under supervision for 12 months and ordered to attend a Think First programme to help prevent him re-offending.

This is understood to be the first case of its kind in the north west since tail docking was outlawed in England on April 6, 2007.

Only certain working dogs and those requiring it for medical treatment are exempt from the ban.

Speaking after the sentencing, RSPCA Insp Vicki McDonald said it was a `satisfactory' result.

She said: "It should also serve as a warning to othersconsidering this that we do take it seriously and will prosecute."