A FAMILY whose puppy was described as "a car without an engine" by a vet will formally complain in a bid to stop an Essex kennels selling sick and diseased puppies.

The Berham family, from Ching Way, Chingford, paid £365 for Jessica, sold as a pedigree Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She died after six weeks from a heart defect.

If they complain - as they say they will - the owner of Hot Dog kennels, Loretta Bastin, could be found to have broken a court order and face prison.

Mrs Bastin, of Dobe Farm, Wickford, was prosecuted by Essex County Council in 2004 after trading standards officers received a series of complaints from customers about puppies who were ill or died shortly after they were purchased.

Emma Berham, 22, said: "The whole family is absolutely devastated. We waited a long time and saved up to get the puppy."

She said Jessica developed a cough shortly after she was bought on January 17 and after a few weeks had problems breathing. She eventually died on Sunday, February 25.

The family were given pedigree certificates without the breeder's name and vaccination certificates with no information about the vet who administered them.

Ms Berham said they had been offered a replacement puppy by Mrs Bastin's daughter, but have instead received a full refund.

Speaking to the Guardian, Mrs Bastin denied a suggestion that the puppies were from puppy farms but would not say where they were bred.

She said: "Cavaliers are notorious for having heart murmurs. I wouldn't dream of selling a puppy to anyone unless I thought it would be in good health."

But she added: "I am not a vet - I wouldn't know if they had heart defects or not."

A spokesman for South Essex Trading Standards, which has been dealing with Mrs Bastin for nearly 15 years, would not confirm if Mrs Bastin was currently under investigation.