Attackers left vulnerable man with brain bleed after taking him 'hostage' in South Shields accommodation

The "inhumane" attack happened in a communal living room in shared accommodation at Beach Road, South Shields, where Kier Ruffell and Lee Taylor were residents, along with their victim, last November.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the door to the room was barricaded with an armchair while the victim was subjected to a shocking attack that left him convinced he would die.

Prosecutor Vince Ward told the court: "The crown say he was kept in that room from 8.08pm until 10.29pm.

"He was subjected to a sustained and prolonged attack at the hands of these two defendants.

"They prevented him from leaving.

"He said it was Ruffell who started the violence and Taylor joined in.

"He said he had been kicked as he lay on the floor and that Ruffell had struck him with a chair.

"As they were assaulting him they were threatening to kill him. He believed he was going to die.

"The crown say they subjected him to degradation by filming him and insulting him during that assault or immediately afterwards."

The court heard the victim was left with a laceration to his scalp, black eyes, chipped teeth, bruising to his back, shoulders and arms and a CT scan showed he had bleeding to the front area of the brain.

He was kept under observation in hospital for two days and the brain injury resolved without intervention.

The victim said he had been held "hostage", described the attack as "inhumane" and said in a statement: "I begged them to let me go but they refused.

"They have shown no remorse."

Mr Ward said the prosecution case is he was "deliberately targeted as a vulnerable victim".

Ruffell, 29, who has convictions for 112 previous offences and Taylor, 31, who has 23 previous convictions, both admitted assault and false imprisonment.

Mr Recorder Chris Smith sentenced Ruffell to two years and one month behind bars and Taylor to 20 months.

The judge told them: "The victim was, in my judgement, particularly vulnerable, he has a dependency on alcohol and was imprisoned in that room.

"This was, on any view, a sustained and repeated assault upon him."

The court heard all three men had been drinking heavily in the hours before the attack.

Christopher Knox, defending, said a large part of Ruffell's criminal record is for offences committed as a youth and he has ongoing drug and alcohol problems.

Mr Knox added: "This was a drunken episode."

Glenn Gatland, defending, said Taylor played a "limited" part in the violence and said the men had previously got on well.

Mr Gatland added: "He shouldn't have done it. He was absolutely drunk out of his mind."

Mr Gatland said both attackers pleaded guilty to ensure the victim would not have to give evidence at court.

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