Three men accused of kidnapping the love rival of one of them, dragging him to a block of flats and beating him, have been cleared of all charges against them and discharged.

Neil Grange told a jury at Canterbury Crown that he was chased and tripped up, beaten with an iron bar, then twice thrown down a flight of stairs before being taken into a bathroom and repeatedly punched.

But his alleged attackers said he followed them willingly to the flats in Herne Bay after falling down some steps and, far from attacking him, they were trying to help him.

Brothers Daniel, 30, and Oliver Hamilton-Harris, 28, and Peter Bakewell, 36, denied causing Mr Grange grievous bodily harm with intent and false imprisonment. Bakewell and Daniel Hamilton-Harris also denied kidnap.

Background to the incident was Mr Grange’s relationship with Daniel Hamilton-Harris’s estranged wife, Leanne, which upset Mr Hamilton-Harris.

On the afternoon of January 25, Hamilton-Harris was taking his children back to his father-in-law’s, where Leanne was living in a trailer, and saw Mr Grange there and realised there was a sexual relationship going on.

Later that night, he was at Francis Court and Peter Bakewell turned up. The pair went out to get some drink and saw Mr Grange in the town.

Hamilton-Harris shouted at him but Mr Grange ran off and they saw him fall down steps at Coopers Hill, ending up sprawled on his face, half in the road.

Mr Grange claimed he had suffered serious facial injuries after being beaten up by the two men, but although there was evidence of a fractured jaw, there was no evidence of a broken nose. The jury heard medical evidence that the injuries could have been sustained in the fall.

Mr Grange had put an iron bar down the back of his trousers for protection. He took it out when he was on the ground but claimed Bakewell had taken it off him and hit him behind the ear with it.

Bakewell, in evidence, said he grabbed the bar and as he was trying to wrestle it out of Mr Grange’s hands, Mr Grange was hit with it, but it wasn’t deliberate.

Mr Grange was bleeding and the two men helped him to his feet and took him back to Francis Court to clean him up.

Mr Hamilton-Harris said they were panicking about the situation which had suddenly become serious but denied the other man’s claims that they twice threw him down a flight of stairs at the flats, smashed his head against a wall then beat him up in the bathroom of flat 16.

Oliver Hamilton-Harris, of South Road, Herne Bay, was already at the flat and Mr Grange said he took part in the attack in the bathroom but played a lesser part than his co-accused.

Oliver Hamilton-Harris did not give evidence at the trial. He told police Mr Grange was cleaned up at the flat.

Bakewell, of William Street, Herne Bay said he grabbed the bar because he thought Mr Grange was going to hit him with it and he was shocked when the other man started to bleed.