A MAN punched a dog more than 30 times in a pub beer garden.

Daniel McCreedy admitted the 15 minute attack on a Staffordshire bull terrier cross breed which he was looking after for a friend.

The 33-year-old, of Campbell Road, Brighton, appeared before magistrates on Friday, pleading guilty to subjecting the animal called Babe to unreasonable violence and causing it unnecessary suffering.

The incident happened at the Royal Oak pub in Lewes on April 13.

Police released CCTV footage of the attack - in which McCreedy is seen punching and kicking the animal - in a bid to help track him down and appeal for witnesses.

The shocking video was viewed thousands of times and within a week dozens of people had contacted police naming McCreedy as the attacker.

He was arrested and made no comment to police after refusing to watch the footage.

At the time of the witness appeal Trudy Funnell, landlady of the pub in Station Street, urged people to share the footage in order to do everything possible to catch the man responsible.

She said: “One of the staff came up to me and said there was an issue with a man and his dog in the garden. 

“I watched him through the window and saw him hit the dog. 

“I had to go over and ask him to leave. 

“It was only afterwards when I watched the whole incident, that I realised it went on for 15 minutes. 

“He punched the dog 36 times, kicked it four times, choked it twice with the lead and poured a pint of beer over it. 

“I felt so guilty when I realised I let the poor dog leave with that man.”

The RSPCA were inundated with calls from concerned animal lovers eager to know if Babe was OK.

At the time a spokesman said it was “absolutely no way to treat a dog” but reassured the public an inspector had examined the dog who had no physical injuries and was in a good condition.

Kate Richardson, prosecuting, said: “The CCTV shows him at various points undertaking a sustained course of conduct.

“Hitting and kicking the animal.

“Hitting nine times on the head, kicking the dog in the groin.

“We have expert opinions which will show this would have caused a considerable amount of pain to the dog.”

The RSPCA said that the dog suffered no long lasting physical injuries.

Recent figures released by the RSPCA show an increase in cases of cruelty across the country. So much so that on average every 30 seconds someone in England and Wales dials the charity’s cruelty line.

McCreedy will be sentenced on August 25.

Background

DOGS are the most persecuted pet, according to RSPCA statistics.

Kent was named one of the cruellest counties in the 2015 figures - with high numbers of reports of animal cruelty across the south east.

In that year the charity received 1, 959 complaints in East Sussex and 1,733 in the west of the county.

Figures released in March showed the organisation investigated almost 150,000 complaints last year. That is more than 400 allegations a day - a rise of nearly five percent compared to the previous 12 months.