THREE men have been jailed after admitting kidnap, false imprisonment, assault and theft of a vehicle during a ‘vicious’ attack.

Damien Noonan, 25, of no fixed address, was sentenced to six years and nine months, Dwayne Devaney, 23, of Cotter Street, Manchester was sentenced to six years, and Forbes Edwards, 23, of no fixed address was sentenced to six years and nine months.

The offence took place last October when police received reports that a 29-year-old man, Stephen Barton, had been assaulted, bundled into a Nissan Qashqui and taken from an address at Triumph Avenue, Chorley, against his will.

Within an hour the man was located in the Whitefield area of Manchester and was taken to hospital where he was treated for injuries consistent with a severe beating.

Detective Superintendent Neil Hunter from Lancashire Police’s major investigation team said: “The motive for this heinous offence is still unclear as the defendants elected to maintain their right to silence when questioned.

“But it is important to stress that kidnaps of this nature are extremely rare — in fact, even rarer than homicide.

“The shocking nature of this offence was that it was committed in broad daylight in full view of young children playing out and on a very nice housing estate in Chorley.

“This was a particularly vicious assault carried out by a ruthless organised crime group and I am pleased that they have been handed jail sentences after pleading guilty when faced with the overwhelming evidence against them.

“The hostage, Steven Barton, was chased over parked vehicles and through gardens until he was eventually caught.

"He was viciously assaulted and dragged screaming into the car where he was stripped naked, bound and gagged and forced into the boot of the vehicle before being driven away from the area.

"Mr Barton was extremely fortunate as I’ve no doubt that without the police intervention his injures would have been far more serious, if not fatal.”