Torture sufferer waterboarded and attacked with cheese grater in 36-hour hell

Liam McHugh subjected his best friend and flatmate to a prolonged and terrifying 36-hour ordeal of violence after discovering he had stolen £120 from him, Newcastle Crown Court heard

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A torture victim who was held captive for over 36 hours believed he was going to die. He was repeatedly waterboarded, bound, doused in paint stripper, assaulted with a cheese grater and had a cigarette extinguished on him during a horrific ordeal.

Liam McHugh subjected his “best mate” and flatmate to a shocking bout of extended and terrifying violence after discovering he had nicked £120 from him. Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim had been mates with McHugh for six or seven years and they had worked together as carpet fitters and he had moved in to live with him a few weeks prior to the offence.

In June last year, McHugh had some mates over and drugs were taken. After McHugh dozed off, the victim pinched £120 of cash from him and used it to purchase more cocaine, which he and another bloke consumed.

When McHugh woke around 8pm the next day, he discovered the money was gone. He was disappointed and upset but not violent initially and told the victim he needed to repay him the money.

However, after popping some “blue tablets”, he became aggressive. He hurled a carpet kicker tool at him and ordered him to get in the bathroom or he would kill him. As he walked to the bathroom, McHugh splashed paint stripper over him and it landed on his arm and clothing, reports Chronicle Live.

McHugh barricaded the bathroom door, trapping the victim inside for the next six hours. At one point, Nathan Beecroft arrived and assisted McHugh.

The victim was subjected to waterboarding, with a drenched towel placed over his face for 30 to 60 seconds at a time, obstructing his breathing. This occurred at least 20 times, with Beecroft interrogating him about the stolen money during the ordeal.

The victim described Beecroft’s behaviour as “weird”, as he alternated between violence and seemingly friendly actions, such as showing him music videos on YouTube.

Joe Culley, prosecuting, stated: “He said it lasted about 90 minutes and he thought he was going to die. He also had bush cutters held against his fingers, toes and the bridge of his nose. The bottle of paint stripper was poured over him and some of it went into his mouth.”

The victim was led to the kitchen, where he believed his assailants were smoking crack cocaine. He was bound with washing line, punched and kicked, and struck over the head with a mirror, which shattered. He also had a cheese grater scraped on his legs and was hit over the head with a metal bar.

The man suggested a relative might be able to repay the money, but was told he had to ask for £600 and the relative refused.

Upon returning to McHugh’s flat, the victim was once again confined and tied up. He also had his hair, eyebrows and eyelashes shaved off, hot tea was poured over him, a cigarette was stubbed out on him and he was stamped on.

Having dozed off, the victim awoke to discover Beecroft had departed and McHugh was on the telephone to police, expressing remorse and claiming he couldn’t recall what he had done.

When officers arrived, they discovered the victim in a bedroom with his hands and ankles tied and they could detect the smell of petrol. He had sustained cuts, bruises and burns, and was experiencing pain and soreness.

In a victim impact statement, he said: “This whole incident is surreal. I can’t believe this has happened to me. It’s hard to think about, even now.

“He was my best friend, he was like a brother. He was the last person I would have expected to do that.

“When I was tied up and locked away I thought I was going to die. I honestly didn’t think I would get out. It was scary.

“I thought they were going to kill me and get rid of me. I didn’t think I would see my family again.

“I felt like a crash test dummy. They were just coming up with different ways to hurt me.”

McHugh, 26, of Osier Court, Stakeford, Ashington, and Beecroft, 37, of Liddle Street, Stakeford, admitted false imprisonment. McHugh was sentenced to five years behind bars and Beecroft received four years and nine months.

Both were also handed ten-year restraining orders. Richard Herrmann, representing McHugh, stated that his client is remorseful and had arranged for the police to be called when he “came around to what he had done”.

He further added that McHugh is of “positive good character”, has promising work prospects and young children. Mr Herrmann described it as an incident driven by alcohol, drugs and his mental health issues.

Andrew Walker, acting for Beecroft, argued that the incident was not premeditated, was fuelled by alcohol and drugs, and said his client was only involved for approximately 20 minutes.