Bamber’s Green couple Billy and Amy Leadley, convicted as part of brutal dog-fighting gang, kept animals in filthy conditions where RSPCA officers discovered a fighting pit splattered with blood

A Takeley couple have been convicted with two men for their involvement in a dog fighting ring that organised bouts across Europe.

Billy Leadley, 38 – also known as GSK or Green Street Kennels – and Amy Leadley, 39, kept dogs in filthy conditions at their Bamber’s Green property, where equipment used to train and fight dogs was found following a police raid on their home in May 2022.

Sixteen dogs were seized and a fighting pit splattered with blood was discovered in their garage. Forensic tests undertaken on 10 samples from the pit area confirmed that blood came from at least five different dogs.

The gang offered prize pots of up to £5,000 and even dined out together after fights.

Billy Leadley pleaded guilty to an offence of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog, by failing to provide veterinary treatment for an injury to its tail, part-way through a four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court which began on March 4 and to failing to meet the needs of nine dogs kept outside and owning a prohibited breed.

The jury found him guilty of a further nine offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including keeping a premises for use in fighting, taking part in a fight by refereeing and keeping and/or training a dog for use in a dog fight.

Amy Leadley was found guilty of three offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006: keeping a premises for use in fighting and causing unnecessary suffering to two dogs by failing to provide veterinary treatment. At the end of the trial she also pleaded guilty to one offence of failing to meet the needs of seven dogs in their house.

The couple were convicted on April 3 along with Philip Ali, 67, from Chigwell – known as Dr Death in the dog fighting world – and Stephen Brown, 56, also from Chigwell, for a string of offences following a lengthy investigation by the RSPCA with support from police forces in Essex, London and Merseyside.

All four have been released on unconditional bail ahead of their sentencing on June 3.

The RSPCA launched the investigation after an officer visited Ali’s address in Chigwell in August 2021 following information relating to the welfare of a dog at the property. Several dogs with scars on their bodies were discovered, along with portable kennels and two dog running machines.

The officer reported his findings to the charity’s special operations unit (SOU), led by Inspector Kirsty Withnall, which began to gather information and intelligence on Ali, prompting the execution of a warrant at his address on March 14, 2022, carried out by the Metropolitan Police. Two dogs – Dotti and Oscar – were seized and placed into RSPCA care.

Dog-fighting paraphernalia, including treadmills which the dogs were chained to, four break sticks used to separate fighting dogs and two flirt poles for strength training were recovered from Ali’s home, along with a DIY vet kit.

Ali’s mobile phone was seized and led to officers uncovering links to the Leadleys and hours of voice note messages describing the planning of fights and the horrific injuries sustained by dogs. A number of deleted dog-fighting videos were recovered along with information that fights had taken place in France and Ireland.

Match reports revealed one round had lasted 45 minutes while another report detailed: “Bonnie now getting tired, loss of blood and one of her front legs has been broken… possible both and then she starts to lay down and it’s going one way.”

Speaking outside court following the verdicts, SOU Chief Inspector Ian Muttitt said: “The mobile phone was a goldmine of information and evidence. It contained graphic videos and images of brutal dog fights, match reports following organised fights, information relating to some of the men’s travel plans and accommodation for specific fights, as well as messages between a number of the defendants planning fights, talking about training regimes and discussing the injuries dogs had suffered.”

The raid on the Leadleys’ home found a large number of bull breeds thought to have been used for fighting, many being kept in poor conditions in a garage, plus two smaller breeds who were removed from the house on welfare grounds.

One dog was also seized following a raid on a property in Merseyside.

In describing the dogs’ accommodation at the Leadleys, Insp Withnall said none of the animals had water. “The area was dark, dingy and filthy...[it] smelt strongly of urine and faeces,” she said.

The RSPCA said it had safeguarded a number of dogs but some who had been involved in fights had never been found.