A SADISTIC former soldier has been jailed again for torturing and mutilating a defenceless hedgehog for his own twisted pleasure.

Richard Coyle had sliced open the stomach of a terrified young female hedgehog he was keeping in a box near his bed in Cross Keys, Caerphilly.

When police forced their way into his bedroom, which he had barricaded, they found the 56-year-old naked from the waist down and wearing a prosthetic bra top to “simulate a woman’s breasts”.

The officers discovered the poor creature last September with horrifying abdominal injuries and she had to be put to sleep.

Sara Pratt, prosecuting, said: “The hedgehog was suffering and death would have occurred over a prolonged period.

“It is clear that the injuries were intentional.”

She told Cardiff Crown Court this awful crime was “strikingly similar” to one he had committed when he was sleeping rough in a tent in woodland in Blackwood.

He butchered that animal by chopping its legs off and burning it.

Coyle had mimicked the voice of a woman in distress and pleading for help when he did so.

When he was arrested by the police: “It's only a f****** hedgehog. It's got fleas.”

He was jailed for six months in November 2020 for that offence and was banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

Three years on, Coyle pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and being in breach of that disqualification.

The defendant is a convicted killer and was jailed for two years in 2006 after he admitted the manslaughter of a flatmate.

William Bebb representing Coyle, who is originally from the Pontllanfraith area of Blackwood, said his client’s life was “a sad tale”.

His barrister told the court: “He was a Welsh boxing champion and a military service boxing champion.

“The defendant was someone who had much promise.”

Coyle suffers from PTSD after his service in the army, the court heard.

Mr Bebb added: “He became dependent on alcohol and drugs and it’s at the core of his downfall.

“The defendant is ashamed of his position.”

Judge Rhys Rowlands told Coyle his actions had been “sadistic”.

“You seemed to be taking pleasure out of it,” he said.

“It wasn’t just cruel, it was the torturing of a defenceless animal.

“This was just about a cruel a case as can be imagined.”

The defendant was jailed for 18 months and was banned from owning animals for 20 years.