Dogsey

A man who admitted setting fire to a family's pet dog is due to be sentenced tomorrow.

Andrew Richard Stewart, 23, was warned to expect jail after he pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary cruelty to an animal in August 2012.

Stewart, from Wellington Parks, Moira, Craigavon, Co Armagh, had denied the charge for two years but made a last-minute change of plea on the second day of his trial in Belfast last month.

Cody, a three-year-old Collie, was so badly burned her ribs and other joints were visible through the charred flesh. She survived for two weeks but had to be put down after vets concluded the animal would never fully recover.

Co-accused Jamie Downey 23, of Chestnut Hall Avenue also in Moira, admitted a lesser charge of perverting the course of justice and is also due to be sentenced tomorrow.

The case sparked widespread public revulsion and more than 60,000 people pledged support for the Justice for Cody social website campaign.

Animal rights campaigners are expected to stage a show of support for the dog's owners Natalie and Martin Agnew outside the Laganside court complex ahead of the sentencing.

An internet fund set up by well-wishers in Cody's name has so far raised £30,000 for animal shelters in Northern Ireland and the Guide Dogs Association.

A guide dog has also been named in Cody's honour.