A man who kept over 30 dogs in filthy, squalid conditions at a £4million property in Holland Park has been found guilty of animal cruelty.

Robert McElhill, 27, of Holland Park Avenue, Kensington & Chelsea, was convicted at City of London Magistrates Court on January 28 of six counts of cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act of 2006 and banned from owning dogs for 10 years.

He was also ordered to pay £2,000 court costs and complete 200 hours of community service.

The court heard how officers from the council's Status Dog Unit and supported by the Met’s Volunteer Canine Welfare Officer, attended the address in June last year following reports of lots of dogs, including banned breeds, being housed there.

Part of the home was being run as a bed and breakfast but when officers entered the family’s living quarters on the ground floor and basement they were instantly struck by the very strong smell of urine and faeces. During the course of their search officers recovered 33 dogs, seven of which were puppies and one was a 'pit bull type dog'.

Most of the dogs were found shut inside rooms, in groups of two to six separated from other groups of dogs by makeshift partitions. The rooms were dimly lit with windows boarded up or blacked out, and the floors, which had gaps between some of the floorboards, were covered in faeces and urine and there was no bedding. Many of the dogs had both old and recent scarring.

Police Sergeant Peter Madden from the Dog Support Unit said: "These dogs were living in appalling conditions with very limited space. Many of them had no water and there was no dog food found inside the property. There was no outdoor access, no toys or any form of environmental enrichment and they had long nails indicating a lack of outdoor exercise.

"Almost a third of the dogs were deemed to be underweight or very underweight and after just five weeks in police kennels the Lurcher, mother to the seven puppies, put on over 35% of her body weight."

Two dogs were discovered on a short stairway which had been closed off. There was no water or food and nowhere to sleep other than on the stairs themselves.

In the basement, police found a underweight sandy-coloured Lurcher and seven puppies, which were in poor physical condition.

All the dogs were seized and placed in police approved kennels for their welfare. As part of the judgement all the dogs found at the address were signed over to police who will now begin the job of finding them suitable caring homes.

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