Two men and a woman have admitted the false imprisonment of a man found seriously injured on a Kendal street.
Police were called to Sandes Avenue in the town at around 3.25pm on June 2 last year.
A 32-year-old man was found badly hurt in the vicinity of a Sports Direct store.
He was flown by air ambulance to hospital in Preston where his condition was said by police at the time to be serious but stable.
Detectives who launched an investigation made a number of arrests in the aftermath and four people were charged.
At Carlisle Crown Court, two men and a woman had been due to face trial after they had denied a charge alleging the false imprisonment of a man. But just before the jury trial was due to start, they changed their pleas to guilty.
Those admitting the offence were 44-year-old Christopher Calvert, of Garth Bank; John Calvert, 35, of Stricklandgate; and 24-year-old Rhiannon Stewart, of Lound Road, all Kendal.
At a previous court hearing in October a fourth defendant, Dominic Hodgson — now aged 18 — had admitted offences of false imprisonment and assaulting the man, causing actual bodily harm.
However, Hodgson, along with Christopher Calvert and John Calvert, denied a charge alleging assault by penetration which was described as “sexual”. This charge is no longer being proceeded with by the prosecution and it is proposed this will lie on the court file. So, too, will the actual bodily harm assault charge which had been denied by Christopher Calvert, John Calvert and also Stewart.
In light of the case resolving with guilty pleas to the false imprisonment charge, Judge Nicholas Barker adjourned the case and asked for the preparation of probation service pre-sentence reports.
All four defendants are due to be sentenced by a judge at the crown court on April 8.
In the meantime, Christopher Calvert and John Calvert were remanded in custody, while Hodgson, of Jutland Avenue, Grange-over-Sands, and Stewart were granted bail.
