A man whose dog savaged a woman to death faces jail after a court heard the conditions he kept his pet in may have contributed to the attack.

Alex Blackburn-Smith pleaded guilty to keeping his 8st Neopolitan Mastiff in a cramped cage before it attacked 52-year-old Barbara Williams at a house in Demesne Road, Wallington, on December 23 last year.

Croydon Magistrates' Court heard today (December 6), how the 24-year-old housed his 1.24m dog "D Bo" in a 106cm cage, in the house he shared with the teaching assistant.

Crown Prosecution Service lawyer, Nicola Wood, said: "The circumstances in which the Neapolitan Mastiff was kept has led, the Crown say, in part, to the incident in which she was attacked by the dog. He was being kept in a cage too small for him."

Mrs Williams, who rented a room from Blackburn-Smith at the time, was attacked by the dog.

Police had to fight off the animal with riot shields before shooting it five times and it took four policemen to carry the dog away.

Mrs Williams, a former teaching assistant at St Elpheges Roman Catholic Junior School, bled to death at the scene after suffering serious injuries to her head and her neck.

Head magistrate Brij Kalia told Blackburn-Smith custody was a possibility as the aggravating factors in the case included the death of Mrs Williams.

Blackburn-Smith also pleaded guilty to keeping a fighting dog. Ruby, the pitbull terrier puppy, was seized at the house following the attack.

He was originally charged with failing to ensure the puppy's welfare also, but Ms Wood told the court the Crown was offering no evidence on that charge.

The 34-year-old was also banned from owning or working with animals. He will be sentenced at Croydon Magistrates' Court on January 3 next year.