A woman at the centre of one of Europe’s largest dog-fighting gangs was convicted yesterday of using her cottage to hold fights where animals often died from their injuries.

Claire Parker, 44, a mother of three, had a pit dug in her garage where illegal dogs fought for up to an hour, as bets of hundreds of pounds were placed on which would emerge alive.

Only now can it be revealed that the woman was married to John Parker — a convicted drug dealer who died in prison this year.

John Parker bred and trained fighting dogs, and used them to guard a large store of marijuana hidden in their kennels. He died of a heart attack in April, but before that was a ringleader of the dog-fighting gang.

The couple used their home in the village of Kexby, Lincolnshire, to host illegal American pitbull fights. They provided sandwiches and beer for dog fighters who travelled across the country for the fights.

One animal was so badly injured that a former special forces soldier who infiltrated the gang said that it looked like a shotgun had been fired in its face. The dog later died.

After a two-week trial, Claire Parker was convicted of holding and being present at a fight in May 2007, and possessing three pitbulls, a breed that is banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Mohammed Farooq, 33, from Bordesley Green, Birmingham, was found guilty of causing two dogs unnecessary suffering, and possessing training equipment for dog-fighting.

A male aged 17 from another Birmingham address was also convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to dogs. They both admitted possessing three illegal pitbulls.

Those convicted were among a gang of eight, including Gary Adamson, 38, who boasted of wanting to be the “Don King” of the dog-fighting world — a reference to the American boxing promoter. Adamson had dog-fighting links across Europe and to Northern Ireland paramilitaries.

The convictions, at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, were part of a £250,000 RSPCA investigation after an undercover operation by Steve Ibinson — a former SAS soldier — whose work was featured in a BBC Panorama programme.

The trial was told how members of the gang attended “conventions” in Finland where severely injured animals had crocodile clips fastened to their tails and ears before being connected to the mains and electrocuted.

A goal for many involved was to train a “respected stud” that could make thousands of pounds for owners in breeding other fighting dogs.

In a number of raids, RSPCA officers seized weighing scales and “break sticks” — for parting the animals once their jaws had locked on to each other. They also seized veterinary products.

Five people, including Adamson, had earlier admitted a series of dog-fighting offences in breach of the Dangerous Dogs Act and Animal Welfare Act. The gang will be sentenced next week, and face up to six months in prison, and fines of up to £20,000 each.

Chief Inspector Ian Briggs, of the RSPCA’s special operations unit, said: “Dog fighting is a barbaric and cruel so-called sport which belongs in the Dark Ages.”

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