A man who was found keeping more than 50 pets in squalid conditions was already barred from keeping animals, a court heard.

Liam Reynolds, 34, of Plymouth was found to have been keeping cats, dogs, fish and birds in his cluttered and dirty home.

Pictures taken inside the home show piles of rubbish stacked on top of each other by a bed side, with mess seemingly overflowing from a bed side cabinet including fast food boxes, plastic bags and bottles.

The sink in the kitchen was also filled with rubbish and dust.

It was found that Reynolds, who was initially banned from keeping animals in February 2019 after admitting two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and a further charge of failing to ensure the needs of six dogs, had breached his ban.

Wooden shelters were found housing five cats but the interior was dirty which ‘large amounts of faeces and litter trays that hadn’t been cleaned out for some time’. 

At Plymouth Magistrates Court, Reynolds, also known as Lee Dart, was jailed for 26 weeks and also saw his ban being extended to 30 years – with no chance to appeal it for 20 years.

The court heard that he had kept the menagerie at his home between December 1, 2021 and October 10, 2023, despite already under a 20-year ban.

Liam Reynolds, 34, of Plymouth was found to have been keeping cats, dogs, fish and birds in his cluttered and dirty home

The sink in the kitchen was also filled with rubbish and dust

Pictures taken inside of the home show piles of rubbish stacked on top of each other by a bed side

His partner, Emily Samantha Lillian Dart, aged 42 and also of Plymouth, was also banned from keeping animals after being jointly charged with Reynolds for failing to meet the needs of two dogs and five cats.

An RSPCA spokesperson said the investigation began after pictures were taken showing Reynolds handling animals at the couple’s home, despite him being subject to an animal disqualification order which prevents him owning animals.

RSPCA Inspector Jim Farr, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, described arriving at the couple’s address where he found two dogs, five cats, 44 birds and fish.

He said: ‘Already at the property were a number of police officers who executed a warrant in relation to a breach to a disqualification order and had managed to gain entry into the property.

‘The interior of the property can only be described as being very chaotic with a large amount of items scattered in no organised fashion along with a large amount of general rubbish in every room, not only on the floor but on just about every surface.

‘All the other rooms were cluttered with rubbish and discarded assortment of items. The bath was filled with items, mostly old fish tanks that appeared to have been there for some time as a layer of dust had formed on the base of the bath.

‘The rear garden was unkempt, strewn with rubbish and discarded items which included a number of cages for animal use.

‘There was also purpose built wooden accommodation which housed five cats. The interior, especially the floor, was dirty and there was a large amount of faeces and litter trays that hadn’t been cleaned out for some time. 

An RSPCA spokesperson said the investigation began after pictures were taken showing Reynolds handling animals at the couple’s Plymouth home, despite him being subject to an animal disqualification order which prevents him owning animals’

He said: ‘Already at the property were a number of police officers who executed a warrant in relation to a breach to a disqualification order and had managed to gain entry into the property’

‘The interior of the property can only be described as being very chaotic with a large amount of items scattered in no organised fashion along with a large amount of general rubbish in every room, not only on the floor but on just about every surface’

‘The enclosure also housed a large number of small caged birds. Further towards the back of the garden was a fish pond.

‘The rear garden along with being cluttered and strewn with rubbish and discarded items had a large amount of dog faeces that at times was unavoidable in stepping in.

‘Upstairs were more rubbish filled rooms, including a bedroom with a soiled cat carrier on top of an empty wooden cage and a small fish tank with tropical fish, and another which contained dirty bird cages with old feed and faeces which were starting to build up.’

It was not the first time Reynolds – who was initially banned from keeping animals in February 2019 after admitting two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and a further charge of failing to ensure the needs of six dogs – has breached his ban.

He appeared before magistrates in Cornwall in July 2021 for ignoring the court imposed order on two occasions.