Three people admit holding a man against his will in Cheshire

Three people have admitted holding a man against his will and assaulting him at a flat in Winsford.

Millie McGreavy, Joshua Hastie and Reece Jackson all appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday 21 July where they pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and assault.

An additional charge of kidnap has been discontinued as part of a plea agreement which was accepted by the prosecution.

The case against the trio began at around 2.30pm on Tuesday 27 January when police were contacted by the mother of a man in Winsford.

The woman reported that her son had disappeared and she had received a number of messages and phone calls from an unknown person threatening to harm him.

The offenders had demanded the woman meet them at Knights Grange and hand over £2,000 or her son would be killed and ‘chopped up’.

An investigation into the reports was launched and a number of searches were undertaken.

Shortly after 10pm on 27th January, a resident from Hemswell Close in Winsford, contacted police and reported that an unknown man had attended her address stating that he had been kidnapped and was too scared to leave the property.

Officers attended and on arrival it was confirmed to be the same person.

When spoken to by officers the man stated that McGreavy, Hastie and Jackson had attended his home at around 3am on 27 January and forced him into the back of a black vehicle.

He had his hood pulled over his face and was then driven to an unknown flat where he was placed on a chair with his legs tied to the chair legs and his arms tied in front of him. He was then systematically attacked by McGreavy, Hastie and Jackson.

This included being hit with a metal bar, having his head forcibly pushed into a bath full of water and having ammonia poured into his mouth. Thankfully, the victim managed to escape the flat after around 19 hours.

Following the allegations a manhunt was launched to locate the trio.

Hastie was located in the local area after being spotted fleeing the scene by an attending officer. Meanwhile, Jackson and McGreavy where both located in Grimsby on Monday 2 February.

During questioning all three defendants answered no comment to all the questions put to them by officers. Despite their silence they were all charged in relation to the incident.

Following their guilty pleas, McGreavy, 28, of Launceston Close; Hastie, 33, of Weaver Grove; and Jackson, 35, of Austin Close, have all been remanded in custody and are set to be sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Monday 17 October.

Following the hearing, Detective Sergeant Neil Mooney, of Northwich CID said:

“Firstly, I would like to recognise the dedication and determination of the officers in this case. Thanks to the comprehensive evidential package they provided, including video interview evidence, witness statements, identification evidence, and digital materials, the defendants had no option but to admit their guilt.

“I would also like to recognise the bravery of the victim. To be forcibly held against your will, tied to a chair and repeatedly attacked must have been terrifying and something that nobody should ever have to experience.

“While he will never be able to forget what happened to him that day, I do hope the fact that McGreavy, Hastie and Jackson have all been held accountable for their actions will provide him with some closure.”