A MOTHER and son who turned their house into a zoo have been banned from keeping animals for life.

Pauline Fearon, 45, and son Gareth Henderson, 22, admitted causing suffering or neglect to some of the 62 animals found in their home in Little Hulton.

Two dogs, called Woody and Tufty, were starved and had such chronic skin conditions they were later put down.

A dead lizard was also discovered at their three-bed terraced home on Spa Crescent although disabled Fearon and Henderson, who has learning difficulties, weren't aware of the death until told by RSPCA officers.

Exotic pets including snakes were kept in cramped conditions with no food or water and without the correct light for the animals to thrive.

RSPCA officials first visited the home on September 21 last year and discovered three emaciated dogs - two of them had to be put down. Vets concluded the dogs had been on a `starvation diet for months'.

Officials carried out a follow-up visit 10 days later and found Fearon, who lived at home with her son and three others, had obtained a huge array of reptiles. Among the pets they discovered were two rabbits in a dirty hutch, canaries with no water and 12 finches in a crowded cage..." More