FOUR people were arrested yesterday after a 20-year-old man was found beaten and naked inside a taped-up wheelie bin in Ballymena, Co Antrim.
The victim, named locally as Adam Robinson, had a suspected broken arm and leg and cuts and bruises to his body.
The lid of the blue paper- recycling bin had been taped shut and wedged under a tree near Sentry Hill in the north of the town.
There were unconfirmed reports that attempts had been made to set it on fire.
Three men and a woman were arrested yesterday.
Police said the incident was not believed to be sectarian or to involve paramilitaries.
Mr Robinson, who is from Ballymena, was dehydrated and drenched in sweat when he was found by a man walking his dog on Tuesday afternoon.
He was taken by ambulance to Antrim Area Hospital. Last night his condition was described as stable.
It is unclear whether Mr Robinson sustained burns.
The wife of the man who found him said their dog began to bark in an unusual manner, prompting her husband to investigate.
He walked down a slope covered in nettles and found the bin at the bottom, she said.
"He heard banging from the bin. He presumed someone had been locked in there and he went down," the woman told the BBC.
"The bin was taped up. It was on its side and jammed up against a tree.
"He took the tape off and found this lad with no clothes on so he helped him out and then he called the police who came very quickly."
Police said they were called to the area late on Tuesday afternoon.
A cordon later blocked the Doury Road entrance to a public park area, known locally as Five Mile Park.
Mr Robinson's Facebook page has been flooded with messages from people expressing disgust at the attack and wishing him a speedy recovery.
He works at Moy Park in Ballymena and is a former pupil of Cambridge House Grammar School in the town, according to his social-network profile.
DUP North Antrim MLA Paul Frew said police had told him that the victim was brought to the park after being attacked at another location.
SDLP councillor Declan O'Loan said the victim was found in a council-owned park near a sports hall.
"While the full facts are not clear this was obviously a very serious incident and the young person concerned was treated in a disgraceful
and degrading fashion," Mr O'Loan said.
"There would have been a number of people involved in such an incident and it is likely quite a number of people have useful information in relation to what happened and I would encourage them to go to the police."
Detective Chief Inspector Tracey Mageean said: "Detectives have launched a full investigation with a definite line of enquiry as evidenced by our four arrests.
"At this time I do not believe that there is a sectarian motive nor do I consider that it is paramilitary-related.
"This incident has shocked local people as this is an area where crime isn't prevalent."
Ms Mageean urged anyone who saw suspicious activity in the Doury Road, Dunclug or Dunvale areas on Tuesday afternoon to contact police.
n pROBE:
Far left, Adam Robinson. Left, detectives at the slope in a Ballymena park where he was found naked and beaten in a recycling bin
PICTURE: Alan Lewis/ Photopress