THE distraught owners of a tiny dog blown to pieces by firework yobs, who then filmed the remains, have branded the culprits "sick in the head". Maureen and Keith Barrington are heartbroken after their beloved 11-year-old Yorkshire terrier Emmie was strapped to a firework and filmed by young men with mobile phone cameras.

The gang even drove slowly past the scene of their crime the next day and laughed as they waved at witness Kara McManus, who said she felt "sick to my stomach".

Mrs Barrington, speaking through tears, said: "I think they are sick; they are sick in the head. They can't be right because who would want to do that. How can they get a kick out of that? How can they make her suffer and film her and laugh at it?"

"I was out searching for her in the morning when a neighbour said he thought he knew where she was. I rushed over and found her body in the bin and my heart just sank. She had been blown to bits and was covered in blood."

The Barringtons believe Emmie may have been so scared by fireworks that she ran into the road and was run over. Three passing thugs then stopped their car as she lay in the road, dropped a lit firework and took photos after the blast.

The couple, who are desperate for the louts to be bought to justice, buried their pet in the garden with her favour-ite toy. A witness jotted down the car registration.

Mrs Barrington added: "She was lovely and beautiful, and so tiny. I hope she was run over and dead before they got to her and did not die that way because I can't bear the thought of her going through that.

Mr Barrington, a retired fireman, said: "We got her when our son left home and she had taken the place of our children. She was so special. My wife is just getting over cancer and I've had a triple heart bypass and she gave us something to live for."

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