Three plead guilty to 2018 footpath attack

The three men appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court

Three men have admitted attacking a man on a footpath seven years ago.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court, Telford men Lewis Harborn, 25; Mark Idiens, 25; and 24-year-old Alexander Green pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm without intent over the violence on the Silkin Way path in Telford in January 2018.

Idiens also pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article.

The case was subject to multiple court delays, and the resulting gap between incident and pleas would "quite frankly [make] deciding appropriate sentences far more difficult", said Judge Anthony Lowe.

The defendants had previously pleaded not guilty, with the original trial date set for September 2019.

The case was then rescheduled five times over seven years before the defendants were re-arraigned and their guilty pleas entered.

Harborn, from Calcott; Idiens of Roberts View; and Green of Whitworth Drive are due to be sentenced at the same court on 28 March.