A SICK prankster has been banned from keeping animals after he was filmed swallowing a LIVE goldfish in a McDonald's restaurant as part of a Neknominate challenge.
Atkinson was banned from keeping animals for three years [ROSS PARRY]In the shocking video, branded by a judge as "sick humour", the unemployed 20-year-old can be heard joking before he consumes the fish.
He can be heard saying: "I'm going to call him Dmitri. I want a nice big one, we are going to eat it. I'll buy some chips with it."
Atkinson and his 19-year-old friend then go to a nearby McDonald's restaurant in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
As Atkinson puts the fish in the glass of beer, he says: "Thanks for the Neknomination, this is a goldfish in beer.
"That trick usually works better when I've got my rabbit."
After eating the fish, he proclaims: "I'm an animal".
The Neknominate craze - which requires the participant to film themselves downing a drink in the most outrageous way possible and upload the footage to the web before nominating two others to do the same - became popular earlier this year.
It was blamed for the deaths of several people, thought to be trying to out-do others in their Neknominate antics.
Both Atkinson and Lewis were prosecuted by the RSPCA after a member of public saw their video on Facebook in February.
Atkinson swallowed the goldfish in front of shocked diners in a McDonald's restaurant [ROSS PARRY]That creature died a deeply painful and wholly unpleasant death
Atkinson admitted the charge of inflicting unnecessary harm to a protected animal.
Summers, who works in an injury solicitors' office, admitted aiding and abetting of cruelty despite initially telling police that the stunt was a visual trick and that they later released the fish into a nearby pond.
Both were handed a three-year ban on keeping animals.
Prosecutor Andy Davidson, for the RSPCA, told the Wakefield Magistrates Court: "The video speaks for itself."
He added: "This type of challenge is well-known. It's a dare filmed and broadcasted for other people's entertainment."
John Wilkinson, for Atkinson and Summers, both of Wakefield, told the court his clients hadn't known they were committing an offence when they made the video.
Sentencing them, District Judge Richard Clews told the pair: "You might say this fish only met the sort of death it would have in the wild.
"You might say, 'well it's only a goldfish'.
"Both of those notions miss the point. Apart from anything else, the more defenceless an animal is, the more culpable the abuse is of it.
"It may not be obvious that fish have the same feelings that a dog or cat has, but that does not mean that they are incapable of experiencing pain and it's certainly no justification for treating them like that.
Atkinson was filmed by friend Lewis Summers [ROSS PARRY]"That creature died a deeply painful and wholly unpleasant death."
The judge added: "This was plainly planned to some degree and clearly deliberate.
"You filmed what happened and put it on a social media site. The further aggravating feature is that you both found it so funny, and still find it funny now.
"That is quite simply sick humour."
Atkinson and Summers were ordered to serve 40 hours of unpaid work and pay a £723 fine each, alongside a victim surcharge of £60.
Speaking outside court, Summers said: "I was shocked when I got the call from the RSPCA.
"I didn't think it was a big issue with it being a small animal. I'm an animal lover myself and I didn't know I was committing an offence.
"I have thousands of followers on social media, and I posted the video because I knew it would go viral. Some people thought it was funny but there were a few who thought it was cruel.
"I did later decide to delete the video."
RSPCA spokeswoman Gemma Fowler said: "It's a horrible thing to do to a living animal, and I'm pleased that the courts have taken the same view.
"I hope that the sentence that's been handed down to the defendants acts as a deterrent and prevents this from happening again in future.
"It's shocking footage. The district judge was absolutely right.
"They showed a blatant disregard for that animal's life and welfare."
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