Four men have been cleared of abducting a father and smashing his kneecap before dumping him in a remote area.

Maidstone Crown Court heard Mark Cheal was walking along a street in Pembury on the evening of November 12 when a van pulled up and three men got out.

One had a baseball bat and another had a short metal pole. One was wearing a balaclava.

Mr Cheal, 35, was chased and attacked with the weapons. A witness heard a crack, believed to be a strike to the kneecap.

The 35-year-old was then dragged into the van and beaten more before being thrown out near Yalding.

Steven O’Reilly, 43; Marcus Brookfield, 40; and 51-year-old Clive Wood were alleged to be responsible.

Prosecutor Piers Reed said Mr Cheal was set up by his friend Mark Cornish, 42, to ensure
he was in the right place at the right time.

The two men met that day. Cornish went to Mr Cheal’s home after booking a taxi from High Brooms station in a false name.

They went to the King William IV pub in Hastings Road, Pembury, but were not allowed in because Mr Cheal was barred.

They ate at an Indian restaurant then separated. Cornish headed for the High Street and Mr Cheal went along Canterbury Road.

The van stopped as he turned into Henwood Green Road.

“When he had been badly hurt and it was enough, they let him go” - Piers Reed

A witness saw Mr Cheal being picked up and bundled into the van. Tape was put around his eyes, wrists and ankles.

“When he had been badly hurt and it was enough, they let him go," said Mr Reed.

Cornish, of Victoria Road; O’Reilly, of Warwick Park, both Tunbridge Wells; Brookfield, of Forest Road, Paddock Wood; and Clive Wood, of Eridge Road, Crowborough, all denied kidnapping and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Cornish, O’Reilly and Wood were all acquitted by the jury of eight men and four women.

Brookfield was found not guilty by direction of Judge Julian Smith.

They had all been held in custody.

The judge told the jurors after the verdicts: “You have found yourself immersed in a world that is not familiar to you."