Appearing at North Antrim Magistrate's Court, sitting at Coleraine, yesterday morning was William David Streeter (28) From Cloyfin Park, Coleraine.

He faced a series of charges going back to 2006, including seven charges of cruelty to a pedigree golden retriever dog.

The charges before the court alleged that he had made threats to kill his wife Alison Streeter — who has since reverted to using her maiden name McMonagle — on October 28, 2006.

He also faced a charge that between October 1, 2005, and October 26, 2006, he cruelly beat, kicked, ill-treated and terrified a golden retriever dog belonging to Alison Streeter.

In other charges, it was alleged that on October 17, 2006, he ill-treated the dog by hitting it with a boulder, that he kicked it using steel toe-capped boots, that he ill-treated the dog by soaking it with a hose, then leaving it outside and that he ill-treated the dog by hanging it.

The final charges relate to October 28, 2006, when Streeter was alleged to have ill-treated the dog by kicking it and finally that he ill-treated the dog by hanging it to the extent that it died.

At an earlier hearing of the case, it had been indicated that Streeter would contest all the charges. The case had been listed for that contest.

However, he changed his plea to guilty after a further charge of causing criminal damage to the dog was withdrawn by a prosecution lawyer.

Defence barrister Francis Rafferty told the court that Streeter now pleaded guilty to the charges.

Resident Magistrate, Mr McFarland, adjourned the hearing to allow for the preparation of reports on Streeter.

During an earlier bail hearing, Lord Justice Nicholson told Streeter: " Despite your denials, I can't believe your wife would invent stories about this dog and the cruelty displayed by you is beyond belief. It was a horrific attack and it is very rare that one comes across cruelty of this kind but it shows that you have some mental illness of some kind."