THREE men pushed a man to the ground and stamped on his face in a brutal attack, a court heard.

Frunza Florin Sebastiar, 25, Viorel Iulian Pricope, 21, and Gheorghe Belehuta, 24, appeared at the magistrates court in Carlisle yesterday, each charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Assisted by a translator, they all entered guilty pleas in relation to the offence which happened in Botchergate on Monday.

Prosecutor John Moran told the court this was a “sustained and repeated” attack.

He said: “A member of door staff sees a male on the floor. This is Christopher Lowe.

“All three defendants were seen stood over him and were seen to stamp all over his body including his head.

“The male tries to run away but they catch up with him pushing him to the floor and again were stamping all over his body.”

No statement was provided by the victim. Only a photo which showed bruising to his eye.

All three defendants, Mr Moran said, accepted their actions as described. “They said Mr Lowe and another male were giving them abuse,” said the lawyer.

They have no previous convictions in the UK but he said it is unknown if they have any previous convictions in their home country Romania.

But he said aggravating features were that it was sustained and repeated and all three defendants accepted consuming alcohol prior to the incident.

The court heard how the men said they had been in the UK for “a long time”. But there was some confusion over the addresses of Pricope and Belehuta, who were not represented in court.

Belehuta said he has lived in Carlisle for four years. He said he has worked at Cavaghan and Gray for two years but could not provide an address for the court.

Rachel Dixon, representing Sebastiar, of Botchergate, said: “This is an incident that is very much fuelled by alcohol.

“He accepts responsibility for his part in this incident. It is an out of character incident.

“We know he had no previous convictions in the UK and he had advised me that he had no previous convictions in Romania.”

She said her client has strong links to Carlisle and previously worked at the Shiny Car Wash.

District Judge Gerald Chalk said: “Because this is a case where it was three on one and was a sustained assault which involved the use of feet I’m sending the case to the crown court in Carlisle.”

The men are due to be sentenced there on November 23. They have been remanded in custody until then.

The two men who were not represented have been urged to seek legal representation. Mr Chalk said the pair were also able to make an application to the crown court to appeal the bail decision.