'I'm sickened’: Teenager says sorry and blames being drunk as he admits to swinging Chihuahua around by its lead

Alfie Loft, 19, said he can hardly remember the incident as he was drunk



Incident was captured on camera by onlooker who posted it on Facebook

Footage shows him walking in a group and swinging the dog repeatedly



Owner allowed Loft to walk it but was unaware until video was put online

Video sparked outrage and prompted several complaints to the RSPCA

A teenager who was filmed swinging a Chihuahua off the ground by its lead has said he is sickened by his action and blamed being drunk for the 'out of character' behaviour.

Alfie Loft, 19, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, said he can hardly remember the incident - captured by a passerby - in which he repeatedly thrust the dog in to the air by its lead.



The footage has since spread across the internet.

Loft was banned from keeping animals for two years and given a curfew by a district judge at Hatfield Magistrates' Court today after admitting causing unlawful suffering to an animal.

Speaking after the case He said: 'I want everyone to know that I'm really sorry and it will never happen again.

Scroll down for video



Alfie Loft was filmed as he walked along Julians Road in Stevenage and swung the dog in the air by its lead

He was with a group of three other men while walking the dog and one appears to be carrying a pack of lager



'I was under the influence of alcohol and I don't really remember any of it.

'I feel sickened at myself. I am absolutely disgusted.'

He said he met the owner of the dog who was 'my mum's age' when she called him and his friends over to share a drink while they were at a pub in Stevenage.

The court heard she asked Loft to take the dog for a walk with him while he and three friends went to a nearby shop to buy more alcohol.

Defence solicitor Natasha Patel said he was trying to encourage the dog to walk by pulling on its lead when it lifted in to the air for the first time.

'The people he was with began laughing at the incident and that has almost egged him on,' she said.

'He knows that was wrong.'

Loft was arrested after the video, filmed by a member of the public, was handed to police and images were issued to the media.

Although the dog was not injured, its owner said it was distressed and was acting out of character.

Loft, who lives with his mother, said: 'I really want to write to the owner to apologise, I'm trying to find out who she is. I'm really pleased the dog is OK.'



Hertfordshire police say the male Chihuahua was not injured and was returned to its owner on Thursday night

He added that he has been told about media coverage of the incident and that the video was on the internet.

'I know it's going to be bad. It's not something to be proud of. It's terrible and disgusting.

'I don't know what my mum is going to say.'

The incident happened at around 6pm on Thursday in Stevenage.

Loft, who was kept in custody over the weekend, is signed off work because he is suffering from depression.

District judge Carolyn Mellanby, who accepted his 'genuine remorse', said: 'He did this in a very public way which was distressing and alarming for members of the public to observe.'

She said his punishment of a 12-week curfew between the hours of 9pm and 6am was also to stop him from drinking alcohol.