Two Workington men have been warned they face lengthy prison sentences for involvement in attacks in the new year.
Detectives launched a public appeal for witnesses in the aftermath of the serious assaults. Officers were called at 8.52am on January 1 following concern for the welfare of two men at a property in the town’s William Street.
The pair were discovered with injuries. One, aged 38, was described at the time as being in a critical but stable condition at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary after suffering head injuries.
The other man,34, was reported to have been discharged after being treated at the West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven.
At Carlisle Crown Court today, the two men charged by police in the aftermath — Jamie Elston, 31, and 33-year-old David Ratcliffe — had been due to stand trial in front of a jury.
But when they appeared in the dock in front of Recorder Tony Hawks, Elston and Ratcliffe both admitted unlawfully and maliciously causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the two victims.
Probation service pre-sentence reports were ordered on the two defendants as the case was adjourned for two months. The court heard a psychiatric report was available in the case of Elston, of Iredale Crescent, Workington.
He and Ratcliffe, of Falcon Place, Workington, were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced at the crown court on September 28.
Recorder Hawks told them: “You have had the good sense to plead guilty to these charges which are, as you know, extremely serious. You don’t need me to tell you that inevitably there are going to be significant sentences of imprisonment for both of you.”
