TWO men have admitted a vicious attack on a 33-year-old Stroud shopkeeper who was beaten with crowbars and hit by a car in March this year.

Stephen Randlesome, 19, of Victoria Drive, Eastington, and Benjamin Strange, 21, of Mitre Pitch, Wotton-under-Edge, both pleaded guilty, at Gloucester Crown Court yesterday, to unlawfully wounding Amandeep Cheema, also known as Amo Singh, on March 26.

The prosecution accepted their denial of a more serious charge of wounding Mr Cheema with intent to cause him greivous bodily harm.

A third defendant - Randlesome's brother Jonathan French-Bell, 27, also of Victoria Drive, Eastington, admitted a charge of affray - using threatening behaviour towards Mr Cheema and a 15-year-old boy who was at the scene.

At an earlier hearing Randlesome had already admitted assaulting the boy causing him actual bodily harm.

After reading a written basis of plea submitted by the defendants yesterday, Judge Jamie Tabor QC remanded all three of them in custody pending sentence next Tuesday.

The violent incident happened in Queens Drive, Cashes Green.

The prosecution case is that the 15-year-old boy, who was in a fish and chip shop in Queens Drive, was initially attacked and Mr Cheema, who runs a nearby store, went to his aid.

Mr Cheema was then hit with crowbars, and a car was driven into him at speed and ran over him as he lay on the ground.

He suffered a head wound which required stitches, bruises all over his body, and needed two metal plates inserted in a broken wrist.