TWO thugs from the Forest of Dean who gagged and blindfolded a man and put him in a 'body bag' in a hole in the ground have been jailed.

Joshua Rice, aged 38, and 44-year-old Andrew Rowbotham subjected the victim to a terrifying six-hour ordeal last July, physically and psychologically torturing after falsely accusing him of stealing their money

This culminated in the victim fearing for his life after the duo restrained him and wrapped him in plastic sheeting in a woodland hole.

On Friday (10 April) the offenders were jailed for a combined total of more than eight years.

It was heard at Gloucester Crown Court how the victim, aged in his 20s, had met Rice and Rowbotham through a mutual acquaintance in June 2025.

The victim described feeling 'cuckooed' by the pair, who frequently came to his house and asked him to store an unknown quantity of cash there a few weeks later.

Scared to refuse, the victim reluctantly agreed.

In the early hours of 29 July last year, Rice, of Coalway Road, Coleford, and Rowbotham, of no fixed abode, accused the victim of stealing the cash they had given him and ransacked his property looking for the money.

The victim was then told to drive the men home. Stopping on the way, Rice and Rowbotham forced the victim to get into the front passenger seat of the car.

The pair then threatened the victim and assaulted him, punching him multiple times in the face and head, causing cuts and bruising.

The victim was also forced to hand over his car keys and mobile phone and was burnt with a cigarette lighter.

Rice and Rowbotham then drove the victim to Rice's house where they made further threats to kill him and subjected him to further assaults.

They threatened to break his legs with a hockey stick and held a curved knife up to his eye. Rice also threatened to cut the victim's finger off with a tool.

Rice then forced the victim to give him the names of his female relatives. He searched for them on social media and he made threats to rape and kill them if the victim reported him and Rowbotham to the police.

Later that afternoon, hoping the pair would take him home, the victim went with the men back to his car and he noticed a large, black plastic sheet had been placed on the seat.

Rice and Rowbotham then drove the victim to a picnic area in the Forest of Dean and stopped in a lay-by.

The court heard how the men gagged the victim and took him down to the bottom of a steep slope where there was a hole in the ground and they laid the plastic sheet in the hole.

The victim was forced to sit on the sheeting while his hands were zip-tied behind him and he was blind-folded.

He was made to lie in the hole while the sheet was folded over his body and face. The victim described it as 'being in a body bag'.

As they made further threats to kill him and held something against his head, the victim described being petrified and was begging for his life.

Rice and Rowbotham eventually relented and took him back to the car. On the way back to Rice's house, they stopped the car again and terrorised the victim further, telling him they might kill him after all.

After arriving at Rice's property, they eventually let the victim go, but told him they would be watching him and would visit him every 24 hours.

They ordered him to have a shower and get his car cleaned to dispose of any evidence.

A relative of the victim reported the incident to police later that day and Rice and Rowbotham were arrested, initially on suspicion of kidnap.

All of the weapons the victim described being threatened with were found by police at Rice's address and seized as evidence.

Officers also found plastic sheeting and zip-ties at the location the victim was taken to in the Forest of Dean.

In police interview, both men denied the offence, but they were subsequently charged and remanded in custody.

Rice and Rowbotham later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and making threats to kill.

In a statement which was read to the court, the victim described how Rice and Rowbotham's actions that day have affected him.

He said: "I've struggled to sleep, having flashbacks during the day as well as at night; of them shouting at me, hitting me and especially of being in that bag – for what was probably five to ten minutes but felt like a lifetime as they talked about killing me.

"I really thought that was it for me, and I said my goodbyes, apologising to my family for somehow having ended up in that situation.

"They might not have murdered me, even though I could feel their threats were real enough, but due to the incident, I've sometimes felt so low I've wanted to take my own life.

"My home, my friendships, my sense of security and my self-esteem – they've taken away so much, I sometimes feel they did actually kill me."

Recorder Richard Mawhinney sentenced Rice to four years and four months imprisonment.

He noted how Rowbotham had shown some remorse for his actions and had "from time to time" tried to discourage Rice from his actions that day. Rowbotham was handed a prison sentence of three years and seven months.

Both men were also given a five-year restraining order and were each ordered to pay costs to the victim of £228.

Following sentencing, investigating officer Detective Constable Annabel Brittain said: "Assaulting, threatening and then terrifying the victim by tying him up, wrapping him in plastic sheeting and putting him in a hole in the ground deep in the forest is the stuff of nightmares.

"The victim went through a horrendous ordeal over a long period, and while it is fortunate he did not suffer more serious physical injuries, the psychological impact of the abuse to which he was subjected must inevitably be significant and enduring.

"His and the other witnesses' strength and bravery in standing up to these criminals and then supporting the investigation and prosecution is totally commendable.

"I have no doubt that in doing so, the victim and his family have commendably helped prevent further criminality and others' suffering."