Footage filmed during an RSPCA raid on the filthy home where 86 animals lived in squalid conditions has emerged, showing floor-to-ceiling dirt and dozens of animals in each room.
The RSPCA released footage following the hearing of social worker David Parkes, 61, his wife Delphine Parkes, 50, and their son Sam Parkes, 28, at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court last month. David Parkes was convicted of three animal welfare offences after a trial. Delphine Parkes and Sam Parkes had previously pleaded guilty to three animal welfare offences.
The trio will be sentenced at Doncaster Crown Court on December 9. Officers from the RSPCA, police and the local council attended the address at Galley Hill, Tickhill, South Yorkshire on April 18, 2025, where they found 84 dogs, made up of Spaniels and Patterdale Terriers and two cats.
The animals were seized and sent to RSPCA centres across the north of England. Five spaniels were sent to Hull, and Hull Live has since reported on two of the dogs’ happy endings. Cloud was adopted by West Hull couple Morgan Bulman and Luke Shepherd, while Polly found a home with RSPCA worker Lisa Marchant.
Morgan said she believes Cloud to be the dog that is at the bottom of the stairs in the video. The filthy Spaniels can be seen lining the staircase while the walls behind them are covered in mud. Officers then move to the kitchen where appliances are also covered in mud and faeces. The 84 dogs and two cats were removed from the property and rehomed, but many had matted fur, fur that was stained yellow with urine and had never been walked on a lead.
Speaking in court, one RSPCA officer described the scene they encountered in the home. Animal rescue officer Liz Braidley said: “On entry into the property at the rear the conditions were appalling. The first room was a small area to the rear of the garage. Every surface from the floor and up the walls was brown in colour, the smell of urine and faeces was overpowering it made my eyes sting.
“We then went through a door to the left which led into the kitchen. There were numerous Spaniel type dogs, all filthy with stained yellow coats. Every part of the floor, walls, and surfaces was caked in a brown residue. The dogs all ran to the other side of the room appearing very scared and timid. The smell in this room was unbearable, it was difficult to talk or breathe properly and I was unable to stay in there for extended periods of time.”
Two adult Springer Spaniels, two 12-week-old Springer Spaniel puppies, two adult female Patterdale Terriers and two Patterdale Terrier pups were living in the Parkes’ bedroom. All animals were seized and one of the Spaniels had to be euthanised due to existing health conditions.
Five of the Spaniels were taken to the RSPCA branch on Clough Road where all have been successfully rehomed. A spokesperson for the RSPCA said the charity “wouldn’t have been able to have rehomed all the dogs without our branches”.
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