A WEST Cumbrian man accused of robbery, false imprisonment, and intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm that amounted to "torture" has been cleared by a jury.

At Carlisle Crown Court, 32-year-old Jordan Starkey was released after the jury heard his evidence, during which he said he had played no part in the violence meted out to 40-year-old Sam McMahon, who suffered multiple facial fractures.

Two other men, both from Whitehaven, have admitted causing Mr McMahon grievous bodily harm with intent to do so during a violent incident in June last year.

During the trial, jury heard the prosecution version of what happened. It included a recorded interview that the victim gave to the police when he said Starkey was involved.  

Prosecutor Tim Evans suggested Starkey played a "leading role" in the violence.

Mr McMahon was attacked at a flat in St James Court, Whitehaven, and left with such serious facial injuries that a police officer who knew him did not recognise him when she found him. 

The violence – which included Mr McMahon being punched, stamped on, and hit with a golf club - had amounted 'torture,' said Mr Evans.

In his evidence, Starkey, of Seven Acres, Parton, told the jury he was not involved in the attack on Mr McMahon. Over the period when it happened, he was either asleep in a bedroom or outside attending a barbecue, he told the jury.

Starkey also told the court he helped Mr McMahon when he saw that he was injured, cleaning away his blood and giving him painkillers.

The victim has since died for reasons that the prosecution accept were not the result of the physical injuries he sustained.

As he concluded the case, Judge Nicholas Barker set the sentence date for the two men who had earlier admitted attacking Mr McMahon. 

Dane Eldridge-Dalton, 35, of Richmond Hill Road, Whitehaven; and James Martin, 51, of St James Court, Whitehaven, will be sentenced on March 11.

Following the three not guilty verdicts for Starkey, Judge Barker ordered his release.