WARNING: Some readers may find the second image of an injured dog upsetting.

A former Grantham man is due to be sentenced for keeping and training dogs for fighting and causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs on April 8 - America's National Dog Fighting Awareness Day.

In February Knibbs, of Polyanthus Drive, Sleaford, was convicted at Lincoln Magistrates' Court of a number of allegations in his absence, including keeping and training dogs for fighting, ear cropping, and causing unnecessary suffering to bull terriers Baddy and Panther by failing to provide veterinary care for their injuries.

Kimberleigh Steele, 29, also of Polyanthus Drive, Sleaford, was also convicted in her absence for aiding and abetting Knibbs who was already in breach of a disqualification ban.

A warrant is out for their arrests for sentencing.

Adam Scott of LLaneilian, Anglesey, who appeared at court, was convicted of possessing two pitbull terrier type dogs contrary to Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and of aiding and abetting a disqualification order for Knibbs. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work and pay costs of £3,000.

A warrant is out for the arrest of Stephen John Gardner, 58, of Bloxholm, Lincolnshire, who also failed to attend court.

Fifty-five-year-old Knibbs was first prosecuted for dog fighting by the RSPCA in 2009 when he was living in the town.

He was disqualified from keeping animals for life at Grantham Magistrates Court.

Investigating RSPCA inspectors had been appalled to find the emaciated carcass of a tan coloured bull terrier, which had died of malnutrition, stuffed into a rubbish bin at his home. A further five pit bull terrier type dogs were in his back yard.

Dog fighting equipment including breaking sticks, weighing scales, medications and an exercise frame used to train dogs for fights were among other items, such as DVDs of dog fights, found at Knibbs' home.

Knibbs was subsequently convicted of breaching his ban in 2016 and while investigating police and the RSPCA obtained a warrant in September 2017 to search a premises in Sleaford.

Here they found eight dogs, including an American bulldog, a bully kutta cross presa canario, and a pitbull terrier, which were removed.

Investigators also found dog fighting paraphernalia and messages, photos and videos on Knibbs' phone, some showing dogs being trained and forced to fight.

These prompted warrants at two other addresses in November 2017 - one in Bloxholm, Lincolnshire, and one in Anglesey, Wales, where another of Knibbs' dogs was found covered in fighting scars.

At the time of Knibbs' conviction RSPCA inspector Kirsty Withnall, from the charity's Special Operations Unit (SOU) who investigated, said: "Some of these dogs had been trained to fight and some of them had been left suffering with horrible injuries from fighting.

"Although we never found the body of Baddy, the pictures and subsequent text messages about the fight revealed that there were severe puncture wounds to his head and the enforced fight between Baddy and a much larger Presa Canario was gruelling, lasting a total of 45 minutes.

"The videos also showed further evidence of this cruel and barbaric practice and the suffering of these dogs would have been horrendous."

The RSPCA believes National Dog Fighting Awareness Day should be extended to the UK where dog fighting - despite being outlawed in England in 1835 - is still 'rife'.

Dog fighting expert and SOU chief inspector, Mike Butcher, said: "Our figures show that in the past four years we've received 7,915 reports of dog fighting incidents.

"While it's promising to see that these figures are dropping, it's still staggering that something - which has been illegal for almost 200 years and which most people consider an ancient pastime consigned to the history books - is still so rife."

Many of the dogs used by dog fighters are never found and those who are rescued are often found to be banned breeds under the Dangerous Dogs Act and cannot legally be re-homed.