Pilot drowned neighbour's pet dog after 'momentary loss of sanity'

An airline pilot has been given a suspended jail sentence after he drowned a neighbour's dog to stop it barking.

Stephen Woodhouse from Long Buckby in Northamptonshire was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison suspended for two years after killing Meg, the border terrier.

As he left Corby Magistrates' Court, Woodhouse told ITV News Anglia that it was a "terrible thing" to do.

Meg belonged to the Boddington family; she was bought for their seriously-ill daughter Lauren who died two years later.

On a summer's day in July 2014 Meg went missing from the garden. The court heard Mr Woodhouse was recovering from a heart attack at the time but found it impossible to sit in the garden and relax, because of the dog barking.

His defence said he had complained about the noise before, but on that day "he lost his sensibilities - he snapped."

Click below to watch a report from ITV News Anglia's Sarah Cooper

Stephen Woodhouse is a pilot for Flybe who have apologised to the family.

The budget airline said they were taking the matter extremely seriously and had suspended Woodhouse pending a full investigation

The court heard Mr Woodhouse has been cleared to fly again but the Civil Aviation Authority told ITV News Anglia it as the right to conduct its own inquiry after a licensed pilot is convicted of an offence.

Stephen Woodhouse's defence described his act as "a momentary loss of sanity".

He left court a convicted criminal and still the Boddington's next door neighbour in Long Buckby.