Daren John Anthony Sherwood, 20, to be sentenced in Tamworth court for animal cruelty

Daren John Anthony Sherwood, 20, is on bail and appeared in Tamworth Local Court last week.

He previously pleaded guilty of committing an act of cruelty on an animal and using offensive language in public after police were called to a townhouse on Robert Street in South Tamworth late last year.

Police suspected an outburst was sparked when Sherwood's white mixed breed dog went inside his home with muddy paws on the morning of November 24.

A set of police facts show Sherwood was heard by neighbours yelling and swearing before they spotted him on his back patio "punching" his dog while it was "yelping loudly".

Sherwood went inside before emerging with a metal mop handle and beating the dog so hard that it broke, police said.

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The dog managed to escape and run into a neighbouring yard but Sherwood gave chase, caught it and continued to beat the dog with his hands.

Sherwood noticed his neighbours watching and began to abuse them before police arrived after multiple calls for help.

Police arrested Sherwood after claiming he became abusive, continued to swear, and didn't listen to police directions.

Aboriginal Legal Service defence solicitor Bridget Dawson submitted to the court that the seriousness of the offences didn't call for a full-time prison sentence.

Magistrate Julie Soars flicked through the police facts and said the hitting, punching and beating with a mop handle was a "serious assault" on a dog.

"Punching, hitting it with a mop handle until it breaks ... the whole thing snaps in half, that's pretty hard" she said.

She ordered a full assessment report to be prepared before she set a date for Sherwood to be sentenced in late February.

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