A woman has been banned from keeping dogs for five years after abandoning her two French bulldogs without food or water in an empty house.

April Louise Toni Rushford, 35, of London Road, Southampton, pleaded guilty at the city magistrates court to animal welfare offences following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.

The starving, emaciated animals were discovered after the landlord realised the dogs had been left after the tenant, Rushford, had moved out.

RSPCA Inspector, Jo Story, went to the address in Derby Road in January last year.

She said: “I could hear a noise. I slowly opened the door to see a small French bulldog puppy. She was extremely skinny with all her ribs showing.

“The room was full of faeces. She was desperate to get out and chewing at the door. There were scratch marks on the door as well.”

In another room - which was filled with faeces and clutter, including broken plates on the floor - was an underweight adult French bulldog.

Both dogs, mum and daughter named Cali and Crystal, were dehydrated and drank desperately when offered water.

The vet who examined the dogs after their rescue noted that they both ate ravenously when food was offered and said that Cali and Crystal were left to suffer because of their need for access to food and water being neglected.

Crystal, who weighed just 3.3kg and her mum, Cali, who weighed just 7.3 kg at the time of their rescue quickly gained weight with the right diet.

Ms Story added: “Crystal doubled her body weight in our care. Cali, added a third to her body weight in our care. They both put this weight back on easily with normal food and water, no other medication needed, which showed that it was literally lack of food and water that had reduced their body weight.”

In mitigation, Rushford said she had experienced difficulties after the recent bereavement of her grandmother and was also temporarily staying elsewhere.

She claimed to have had issues accessing the property and didn’t want to tell the landlord about the dogs because she wasn’t allowed pets at the address. She admitted she could have done more to help Crystal and Cali.

As well as the five-year ban, Rushford also the dogs taken away from her.

The pets have been in RSPCA foster care since their rescue and are set to be rehomed.

The case was brought under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.