The family of a 14-year-old girl savaged to death by four dogs said they were "disgusted" after the owner walked free from court with a suspended sentence.

Beverley Concannon kept one of her dogs, a big American bull mastiff, in a tiny cage where it went "stir crazy" along with two other pit bulls and and another bull mastiff which were all kept cooped up in her council house.

The conditions led to them becoming stressed and "hyper aggressive" and they turned on and savaged to death Jade Lomas-Anderson at the house in Atherton, Greater Manchester on March 26.

The girl, who was on half-term school holidays and had stayed the night with Concannon's daughter at the house, suffered "horrific" injuries "from head to toe", Wigan Magistrates' Court heard.

Pc Martin Burkinshaw, who was first on the scene after the 999 call, said: "I will never forget what I saw."

Mother-of-one Concannon, 45, who had been warned before about her aggressive dogs and how she kept them, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to bull mastiffs Buddy and Neo and Staffordshire bull terriers Ty and Sky between July 19 last year and March 25 this year, in that she subjected the animals to "an environment that was detrimental to their well-being".

She sat head down in the dock throughout the hearing just yards from Jade's family, who broke into tears as the court heard distressing details of the incident.

But they marched out of court in unison as Concannon was told she would not be going to jail immediately.

The defendant, who is on benefits, was given a 16 week jail sentence, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge totaling £165. She was also banned from keeping dogs indefinitely.