A mother of three has been found guilty of being involved in a Europe-wide dog fighting syndicate with links to Northern Ireland paramilitaries, the RSPCA said.

Claire Parker (44) was convicted alongside Mohammed Farooq (33) and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at Lincoln Magistrates' Court.

The trio, who were involved in a dog-fighting ring which spanned the country, were found guilty by a district judge after an investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme.

It found that the syndicate had links to a gang in Northern Ireland with paramilitary connections who supplied illegal American pit bull dogs.

Members of the ring attended fights as far away as Finland.

Parker, of Kexby Lane, Kexby, Lincolnshire, a mother of three young children, was found guilty of holding a fight in the garage at her home, which she shared with her husband, John Parker.

He has since died in prison.

She was found guilty of being present at a dog-fight, keeping a premises for dog-fighting and possessing three pit bull dogs. She denied all the charges.

Farooq, of Daniels Road, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, was found guilty on two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and possessing training equipment for dog-fighting.

The youth was convicted on two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, and keeping dog-fighting equipment.

Both he and Farooq earlier admitted owning banned a pit bull.

They were the time-keepers at the fight at Parker's home.

The RSPCA said it was one of the biggest cases of dog-fighting it had ever prosecuted.

Chief inspector Ian Briggs, from the RSPCA's special operations unit, said: “Dog-fighting is a barbaric and cruel so-called sport which belongs in the Dark Ages and horrific suffering is caused to the dogs involved.

“Those that continue to pursue this activity should understand that the RSPCA and the police will continue to bring those responsible before the courts.”

During the trial the court was shown a video of the BBC programme Inside Out in which an undercover reporter called Steve Ibinson can be seen chatting to 38-year-old Gary Adamson, a keen dog-fighter.

The reporter met Adamson after he started drinking with the Farmers Boys, a dog-fighting gang based in Tandragee in Co Armagh.

The reporter has since died in Afghanistan but District Judge Richard Blake was shown graphic footage of a dog-fight in Finland attended by Adamson. Ibinson went on to describe how one fight left some of the dogs involved so badly injured that they would have had to be put down.

He added: “The last dog in that incident was killed by putting on to its tail a crocodile clip and another one on to its ear and then connecting it to the main electrical system.”

Adamson (38), of Ramsey Crescent, Yarm, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to six charges in connection with illegal dog-fighting last week.

All four people, including a further three men connected to the case, will be sentenced on September 25.