Couple imprisoned epileptic man in shed for four months until he starved to death

The vulnerable 29-year-old, who had epilepsy and learning difficulties, was let out only to act as a household slave for his captors.

They even recorded a video similar to those used by terrorist kidnappers in which an emaciated Mr Davies was forced to praise his three jailers for looking after him.

His family were unaware of his suffering because he called his mother to say he was keeping well.

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Finally, the starving prisoner collapsed dying on his tormentors' kitchen floor and police discovered a diary kept by one of them which outlined the appalling way he had been treated.

But the three escaped a murder charge because it could not be proved that Mr Davies's epilepsy did not contribute to his death.

They were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court yesterday for false imprisonment and assault.

David Lehane, 36, and his 26-year-old girlfriend Amanda Baggus were each given ten years while their friend Scott Andrews, 28, was given a nine-year term.

Mr Davies's mother said they had got away with murder.

The court heard that before the abuse began, Mr Davies had been a long-time friend of landscape gardener Lehane, and helped him with odd jobs.

But Baggus decided that Mr Davies should be punished after she blamed him for crashing her three-wheeled Reliant Robin in May last year.

She and Lehane locked Mr Davies in the shed outside their home in Bream, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, and started cashing his benefit cheques every week to pay for the damage.

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Soon he was being beaten daily - sometimes with a thick wooden bar - leaving the ceiling, walls and furniture of their home stained with his blood.

Their friend Andrews moved into the house and joined in with the horrific abuse.

Police were alerted after Mr Davies died because he was malnourished and had serious wounds which included burns caused by a hot knife.

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They found Baggus's diary, in which she detailed the abuse.

In one entry, she wrote: "Decided to make sure Kevin had a good night by getting Dave to beat him up."

In another, using a derogatory nickname for Mr Davies, she wrote: "He was playing up last nite, banging in the shed.

"So later that nite both Scott and Dave hit Pr*** until quite late, cause Pr*** made a load of shouting."

The three defendants later blamed each other and insisted they had been led by the others.

Judge Charles Gray told them: "The treatment Kevin Davies was subjected to at your hands was truly horrendous and completely inhumane.

"Your victim was vulnerable and gullible and you befriended him when he was down on his luck.You helped yourselves to his money and you imprisoned him in a shed."

Mr Davies's mother, Elizabeth James, said: "They have got away with murder. I just can't believe that anybody could be so cruel and I just don't know how they got away with it for so long."

She had received calls from her son during his ordeal - where he gave no indication of his suffering - but she believes this was done under duress.

A family friend added: "Nothing can compensate us for Kevin's death. Those people aren' t human."

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Brookes, from Gloucestershire Police, who led the investigation, said: "On the face of it they were normal members of the community living in the Forest of Dean, but quite clearly their behaviour was extraordinary and bizarre."