A pet shop owner has been banned from trading for five years after he unplugged a goldfish’s oxygen supply to charge his mobile phone.

Jewan Shikho killed the fish when he pulled the plug to give his phone life at Pets Place in Salford, Greater Manchester, in August last year.

Four other fish were rescued from the tank after the oxygen pipe was left without power.

Following a tip off, council environmental health officers carried out an inspection on the property – which they said was in ‘appalling condition’.

A parakeet was also found dead in piles of excrement and baby rabbits were seen roaming around the filthy shop because their hutches were not secure.

According to town hall bosses, Shikho ‘cared nothing for the welfare of the animals, only for his profits’.

In a report, they said parakeets had been crammed into a makeshift aviary with insufficient perching space and were having to cling to the sides of the cage, while one bird lay dead.

A baby rabbit was left without access to water and three others roamed freely round the mouse-infested premises.

All of the rabbits were removed by the RSPCA because they were in poor health.

A follow-up inspection a week later found Shikho had removed the aviary.

The 25-year-old owner breached 23 conditions of his pet shop licence, including having no documentation to show where the animals had come from or who he had sold them to, the court was told.

Shikho of Cheshill Court, Marlborough Road, Salford, pleaded guilty at Salford and Manchester magistrates court to failing to comply with pet shop licence conditions as prescribed under The Pet Animals Act.

He was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community work, his pet shop licence was revoked and he was disqualified for five years from keeping a pet shop.

He was also ordered to pay court costs and a victim surcharge totalling £940.