A trio who kidnapped and imprisoned a man for six hours over an unpaid debt wept in the dock as they were jailed for a total of 10 years.

The terrified victim in the case was said to be "unable to go out for six months without looking over his shoulder" after Dominic McArdle, Selena Parker and Ashley Stuhler forced him to get into a car and kept him in a flat in The Elms, Brandon.

It was not until police, armed with Tasers, went into the building that the man was finally freed from his ordeal - more than six hours later.

Sentencing the trio at Ipswich Crown Court after they were all found guilty by a jury of unlawfully taking the victim away against his will, Judge David Pugh said: "There was no justification for you to take the law into your own hands."


East Anglian Daily Times: Selena Parker was said to have 'encouraged the others' to carry out the kidnapSelena Parker was said to have 'encouraged the others' to carry out the kidnap (Image: Suffolk Constabulary)

During a trial, Parker told jurors that she had been angry and upset when the victim took money out of her bank account without permission.

She admitted slapping him in the face after he admitted spending the money on drugs, but denied forcing him into her car in May last year.

Parker, 35, of High Street, Brandon, told the court the victim had said he wanted to get her money back and had willingly got into her car, so he could make telephone calls to try and get money to repay her.

Stuhler, 33, of Glenmore Gardens, Norwich, was in a relationship with Parker at the time.

East Anglian Daily Times: Ashley Stuhler 'punched, kicked and kneed' the victimAshley Stuhler 'punched, kicked and kneed' the victim (Image: Suffolk Police)

He told the trial that he had been angry when he heard the victim had taken money from her bank account, leaving her without money to pay for food and electricity or support her child.

Judge Pugh said that whereas Parker only used violence once, Stuhler "played a significant role".

"You punched, kicked and kneed the victim, and made threats he or his family understood would be carried out," the judge said.

However, he said it was McCardle, 35, of London Road, Ipswich who "inflicted the worst violence".

Parker, who Judge Pugh said "drove the others to the original imprisonment" and whose "words and actions encouraged the others", was jailed for three years.

East Anglian Daily Times: McCardle was said to have had the most serious roleMcCardle was said to have had the most serious role (Image: Suffolk Constabulary)

Half of her 80 days on an electronic curfew, as well as the 39 weeks she has spent in custody already, will count against her sentence.

McCardle and Stuhler, both of whom put their head in their hands as the jury delivered its unanimous verdicts, were each sentenced to three years and six months in jail.

Judge Pugh said their previous convictions aggravated the offence.

Stuhler's six convictions for eight offences included using threatening behaviour in 2016, while McCardle's four convictions for four offences included possession of a blade - albeit for the purposes of self-harm.

Parker was of previous good character.

Stuhler's time on remand will count against his prison sentence, while half of McCardle's 485 days on an electronic curfew will count against his term.