A BUNDLE of fur called Barney has brought new joy to a Linthwaite couple.

He is the boisterous new pet in the home of Keith and Maureen Barrington - the couple who found their previous pet Emmie blown apart in a sick firework attack.

But as the yob who admitted the callous attack awaited sentence in court, the Barringtons revealed they had taken in a new dog to bring back happy times to their Linthwaite home.

Steven Mark Robinson, 19, of Pennine Gardens, Linthwaite, yesterday admitted outraging public decency by putting a firework into Emmie's lifeless body after she had been struck by a car.

The tiny terrier was blown apart and her remains callously dumped in a wheeled bin.

Robinson and two others had carried out the attack last October after finding Emmie's body in Gilroyd Lane.

A 16-year-old youth has been cautioned for his part in the incident, but the third yob has not been traced.

Robinson will learn his fate next month.

After the case, former Grenadier guardsman and fireman Mr Barrington, 68, said: "I just hope all three get their just deserts.

"At last there is some light at the end of the tunnel and we can finally put it all behind us.

"It is hard to think of what sentence Robinson should get for such a sick crime.

"If it was down to me, I would get all three of them and put them in stocks in the centre of the village and let people see their shame.

"That would do far more good than a caution or even a jail sentence for Robinson.

"We still have Emmie buried in our garden and we will never forget her.

"But we have just taken in a new Yorkshire Terrier from the RSPCA, who had taken it from a lady who has cancer.

"His name is Barney, he is eight years old and he's lovely. We have adopted him and it is a way of moving on.

"We both love dogs and I am delighted we can provide a home for one."

Mr Barrington and his 67-year-old wife, who is battling cancer, had Emmie for several years after their two children left home.