TWO men who repeatedly beat a teenager and held him hostage at knifepoint while trying to withdraw money from his bank account have been jailed.

Lithuanian nationals Deividas Butarovas, 23, and Aidas Gurskas, 22, were among a group of people who held the 19-year-old at knifepoint at a property in Gladstone Street, Peterborough, in the early hours of April 18 this year.

The teenager had been out with his brother in Liquid nightclub, in the city centre, but had become separated from him and had got a taxi with a man he didn’t know.

They ended up at the Gladstone Street premises where four men, including Gurskas and Butarovas, and a woman made him hand over his bank card at knifepoint. They asked him for the card pin but he gave them a false number and when one of the gang went to an ATM at Lloyds TSB in Millfield they failed to withdraw cash.

The teenager was then beaten as they demanded his correct pin number and they took his mobile phone, provisional driving licence, his silver earring and a small amount of cash.

He was punched and beaten with chair leg and a hockey stick, which was used with so much force it broke. He tried to escape through a bathroom window but was dragged back and assaulted again.

It was not clear how long the victim was held for but he eventually escaped and was helped by a woman in Taverners Road who allowed him to ring his father from her mobile phone.

Police launched an investigation and Butarovas, of Warbon Avenue, Peterborough, and Gurskas, of Exeter Road, Peterborough, were arrested. Both men were forensically linked to the crime scene through fingerprints on beer cans and a palm print in the victim’s blood.

Butarovas was found guilty by majority verdict of 10-2 on charges of robbery and false imprisonment following a trial at Peterborough Crown Court in September, while Gurskas pleaded guilty to the same charges at a previous hearing.

Today, Butarovas was jailed for four years and Gurskas for four-and-a-half-years at Peterborough Crown Court. They will also be deported after serving their sentences.

DC Kevin Poole, who investigated, said: “These men held the victim against his will and subjected him to a prolonged and violent attack. He was hit with weapons, kicked and punched and threatened with a knife.

“This was a shocking crime and the violence used was as bad as I have seen in my time as a detective. It is hard to imagine what the victim must have felt when this was happening and it still affects him to this day. Hopefully, today’s result can represent some kind of closure to what has been a horrendous ordeal for him and his family.”