A FARM owner from Olveston found guilty of animal cruelty has been ordered to remove all of her animals.

Susan Smith, 60, owner of Ingst Manor Farm, has avoided prison after lodging an appeal against her conviction for animal cruelty.

She was due to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court last Thursday, but was granted bail after her barrister lodged the appeal.

Judge Martin Picton stressed that she must dispose of all animals on her farm by October 18.

The appeal is expected to take four to five weeks and will be heard in February next year.

In July, Smith appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court facing 36 charges of animal cruelty and neglect.

On that day another man, Mark Downes, 50 of Coniston Road, Patchway, was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison. He was also given a lifetime ban on owning farm animals and told he would have to pay £1,000 of compensation on his release.

Smith’s 21-year-old daughter, Georgina Blizzard-Smith, also of the farm, was also found guilty of two charges of breaching animal welfare. Namely, failing to take steps to ensure the needs of two dogs.

Blizzard-Smith was ordered to pay a compensation order of £306 and costs of £500 and was deprived of ownership of the two dogs.

The RSPCA first visited Ingst Manor Farm in 2015, following a number of complaints by neighbours and residents around the area. On arrival they were immediately greeted by suffering animals.

Dead carcasses were found around the farm, even amongst the pens that others were still being kept in.

One report detailed a lamb being found stood over its dead mother.

On further visits to the farm, RSPCA inspectors also found more animals in need of help, including dogs who had also been kept in unsuitable conditions.

A decomposing horse was found wrapped in plastic, with another dead horse discovered attached to the rear of a vehicle with rope tied around its neck.

Bristol Magistrates’ Court District Judge Lyn Matthews described the farm as an ‘animal welfare disaster’.

She described the farm conditions as ‘appalling’ and ‘not a short-term incident’.

Judge Matthews admitted that the magistrates’ court powers were insufficient for Smith’s case, as she faces charges dating back to 2013.

Hazel Stevens, who was prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA and SGC at the trial in July, said: “This has not been a pleasant experience for anyone in that area, people driving past or taking small children to school.”

Vets and police officers joined the RSPCA on numerous visits to the farm between March 2015 and August 2015.

In mitigation Smith claimed to have been bed-bound with pneumonia, thus leaving the farm in the hands of Downes.