A man who threw a dog out of a van before driving away has been ordered to pay hundreds of pounds.

Steven Harber, of Rochester Road, Gravesend, was caught on camera dumping the animal in Britannia Road, High Halstow.

Footage shows him stopping the van in the country lane, walking to the passenger side and opening the sliding door, before picking up the dog and throwing it to the side.

The animal can be seen running around as Harber quickly gets back inside the van. He then drives off, with the dog running behind the vehicle.

Harber appeared at Medway Magistrates' Court earlier this month, when he pleaded guilty to abandoning the dog in June.

The court heard Harber’s business had suffered after the footage was published. Magistrates fined him £80 and ordered him to pay costs of £687 and a £30 victim surcharge.

The chairman of the bench said he had committed an appalling and disgusting act and that it was only due to good fortune that the dog came to no harm.

As part of an appeal to identify the 63-year-old, Medway Council posted CCTV footage of the incident on social media.

The council’s environmental enforcement team then took action once he was identified.

Cllr Jane Chitty, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder covering enforcement, said: “I would like to thank the public for their help in identifying the man in the CCTV footage.

“Once he was identified we took quick and appropriate action and he was prosecuted.

“This man abandoned his dog and will now face the consequences.

“It is unacceptable to abandon any animal but the cruel way in which he dealt with this dog was totally unnecessary as other options were freely available.”

Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Wardens, Cllr Rupert Turpin, added: “Our wardens work tirelessly to reunite stray dogs with their owners and rehome abandoned dogs.

“Dumping dogs is cruel and unnecessary; there are lots of local charities who will take unwanted animals.”