Five people have been jailed for what a judge has called the sickening, sadistic and

gratuitous degradation and torture of a man.

The victim, Benjamin Palmer,

• Was punched and kicked in the face and stomach
• Held prisoner in a flat for more than four hours
• Had an axe and meat cleaver held to his arms and neck
• Was made to strip naked and pick up cigarette butts from a floor with his mouth
• Was forced to drink the urine of one of his assailants

Judge Simon James, passing sentence at Canterbury Crown Court, said: “Some of this sickening treatment was recorded on camera phones.

"I have seen the recordings which show the gratuitous violence metered out and how you all seemed to be relishing what he was being subjected to.”

Rebecca Foster, 25, of Eastern Esplanade, Margate; Julie Davies, 43, of Godwin Road, Margate; Jason Roberts, 28, of Dalby Square, Cliftonville and Bowe Davies, 22, of Bognor Regis, all admitted causing grievous harm with intent and false imprisonment.

Joanna Chapman, 24, of High Street, St Lawrence, Ramsgate, denied the charges but was convicted by a jury.

Judge James told the five: “This was a premeditated assault in retribution for perceived wrongs against Chapman.

"Although your individual roles differed, what you did to this man amounted to torture. This was a gratuitous, sickening, degrading and sadistic incident.”

Jailing Bowe Davies for seven years Judge James said he played the leading role in the attack, orchestrating the violence. He also sentenced Roberts to seven years’ in jail.

Turning to Julie Davies, Judge James said: “You threatened the victim with an axe and meat cleaver and it was apparently your urine he was forced to drink.

"You were instrumental in planning this attack, which was a ritual humiliation and you were revelling in the fact that your victim was degraded and terrified.”

He jailed her for six-and-a-half years.

Jailing Chapman for six years Judge James told her: “You were content at what the otherswere doing to your former lover and the father of your child.”

Foster, whom Judge James described as an active and willing participant, was sentenced to five years in prison.

Martin Yale, prosecuting, said on May 3 Mr Palmer left Julie Davies’ apartment where he was staying with her and her son Bowe. Mr Palmer had separated from Chapman, with whom he had a daughter.

When he returned to the flat Foster and Roberts were also there. Julie Davies let him in and shut and locked the door behind him, Mr Yale said.

Mr Palmer walked into the front room where he was attacked by Bowe Davies and Roberts.

He was hit on the nose and repeatedly kicked. Julie Davies got an axe, took Mr Palmer’s right arm and asked him if he wanted to lose it.

All four refused to let him leave. Julie Davies started sliding the axe up and down his arm while Roberts stood on both of Mr Palmer’s legs.

Julie Davies then came in with a meat cleaver and put it against Mr Palmer’s neck, Mr Yale told the court.

Julie Davies telephoned Chapman and told her they had photos of the attack. Mr Palmer was told to clean the floor and put his blood-stained clothes in a bag and then in a bin.

Mr Yale said: “Mr Palmer says he was kept in the flat for a few hours. He suffered nasal and facial fractures, bruising to his face and body and needed surgery on his nose.”

Police found an axe and meat cleaver in the flat with Mr Palmer’s blood on it, Mr Yale added.

The defendants’ phones were checked and found to contain photos of Mr Palmer’s injuries and of him cleaning the floor naked.

Mr Yale said: “Videos on the phones showed the attack was far worse than Mr Palmer had said.

"The videos showed the defendants being aggressive to him and a naked Mr Palmer picking up cigarette butts with his mouth.

“Julie Davies sent Chapman messages about it to which Chapman replied. Videos showed Bowe Davies kicking Mr Palmer in the face as he cleaned the floor with his mouth.

“Mr Palmer asked for a drink and Julie Davies urinated in a jug and he was told to drink two glasses of it. Foster’s role was one of encouragement in the process.”

Julie and Bowe Davies, Foster and Chapman had no previous convictions. Roberts had a previous conviction for battery and breaching a non-molestation order.

Carl Woolf, defending Julie Davies, said she had stayed out of trouble for 40 years and when Mr Palmer had nowhere to go she took him in.

"Although your individual roles differed, what you did to this man amounted to torture. This was a gratuitous, sickening, degrading and sadistic incident" - Judge Simon James

“No matter how horrific this incident was it is an isolated one and set apart by a very specific set of circumstances,” Mr Woolf said.

John O’Higgins, defending Bowe Davies, said there was no possible justification for the attack. But he said his client was not a violent, bullying thug and had himself been the victim of violent bullying at school.

Daniel Cummins, for Foster, said although videos were found on her phone she did not take them and played a lesser role in what unfolded. She had children of two and five and another due in August and was now a different person than when the incident took place.

Christopher Sutton-Mattocks, defending Roberts, said he looked after his mother who had a degenerative illness, while Piers Wauchope, defending Chapman, said his client had three children under five by different fathers.

“She was in a violent relationship with Mr Palmer and is a vulnerable woman with a history of depression,” Mr Wauchope said.