Broughshane: Man stabbed with heated knife then dumped in field

A man was stabbed close to his heart with a heated knife and sliced across his face before being dumped in a field near Broughshane, a court has heard.

A detective told Ballymena Magistrates' Court the victim was "an hour from death" when bin men found him on the Lisnamurrikin Road on 11 October.

She said it was only due to the height of the bin lorry that they were able to see his body lying in the field.

The details emerged as two men were charged with his attempted murder.

David Cherry, 39, from Waveney Park in Belfast and Sean Davies, 38, from Queen's Park in Saintfield are also accused of kidnapping, arson and possession of drugs.

Last week, David Coleman, 36, from Fountain Place in Ballymena and Mark Bradshaw, 51, from High Street in the town were remanded in custody on the same charges.

During Thursday's hearing, the detective said the victim had been in intensive care sedated for a number of weeks but "following a lengthy recovery" was able to speak to police and provided a detailed statement.

She said he alleges to have been asked to go to Mr Coleman's flat as he had an "outstanding debt".

The court was told that a knife was heated over a gas hob before he was stabbed in the chest and sliced across his mouth.

The detective also said the victim was "forced to strip in attempt to clean up his own blood" before he was put in to the boot of a car and dumped in a field.

The court heard that doctors believed the victim was "an hour from death from possibly hypothermia or blood loss".

The judge denied bail applications and the accused have been remanded into custody with the cased adjourned until 30 December.