Four men have been jailed for the roles they played in an incident involving a man who was beaten, stabbed, bundled into the boot of a car then dumped in a field near Broughshane.
The victim, who was abandoned wearing only his boxer shorts, was discovered by binmen and suffered permanent and life-changing injuries.
The four appeared at Belfast Crown Court with the total sentences amounting to 17 years and ten months.
Judge Gordon Kerr KC said the incident “displayed a degree of viciousness and callousness which fortunately is rarely seen”.
Mark Bradshaw (53) from Skye Park in Ballymena, Glenn Allen Sheridan (45) from Florence Walk in Belfast and 41-year old David Philip Cherry, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, all admitted a charge of kidnapping.
Cherry also admitted causing grievous bodily harm, whilst 41-year old Sean Davies, from Queen’s Park in Saintfield, pleaded guilty to arson.
Bradshaw was handed a sentence of five years and seven months, Cherry was sentenced to five years and two months, Sheridan had four years and nine months imposed whilst Davies was sentenced to two years and four months.
All the sentences were divided equally between prison and licence.
All the charges arise from an incident on October 11 2021 which started at a house in Ballymena. The court heard it involved the victim being asked to bag cocaine to clear a drugs debt.
The victim was treated for a catalogue of injuries including a stab wound close to his heart, extensive lacerations and fractures to his face, an injury to his brain and a fractured skull.
He was dumped into a field with cows. The badly injured man recalled waking up and trying to crawl away - and was spotted covered in blood in the field by two council workers driving past in a bin lorry.