Three people were charged last night with the murder of a man with learning difficulties who died at the weekend after he was beaten up in the street near his home.

Brent Martin, 23, was dragged along by his belt during the attack before being left bloodied and dying. He was found by neighbours and his uncle with his underpants and trousers around his ankles, his family said.

The beating, on a council estate in Sunderland on Thursday night, was so severe that sand was thrown on the pavement to cover the blood.

Mr Martin died in the early hours of Saturday with his family by his bedside. His widowed mother, Brenda, was reported to have told her son as she kept vigil at Sunderland Royal Hospital: “Justice will be done.”

Two youths aged 16 and 17 - neither of whom can be named - and William Hughes, 21, of Sunderland, were remanded in custody. They were due to appear at Sunderland Magistrates’ Court this morning.

It was unclear why Mr Martin was targeted, but police suggested that he may have been picked on for his learning difficulties.

Mr Martin had recently returned to live with his mother and twin sister, Danielle, in Sunderland and was hoping to start a college course in landscape gardening.

He was attacked at about 10pm in the Town End Farm area of the city. Northumbria Police said: “We believe that as part of the assault, or during the assault, Mr Martin was dragged by his belt.”

By the time that neighbours reached Mr Martin, he was unconscious. His uncle, who lives nearby, was among those who went to his aid.

The extent of Mr Martin’s injuries have not yet been revealed, but one family member said: “They kicked his head constantly and stripped the lad. His uncle put a blanket around him and phoned for an ambulance.”

The unnamed relative said: “He was a lovely lad and a genuinely nice person. You never saw him standing on street corners, getting into trouble with the police or drinking. He had a family that loved him very much and he was brought up to be polite.”

One neighbour described Mr Martin as a lovely, friendly lad. She said: “This has shaken people really badly. What happened to him is disgusting.”

A 37-year-old father of two, who knew the victim, said: “I can’t believe anyone would do this to a lad like him.” One resident of the road where Mr Martin was attacked, who did not want to be named, said: “If he was attacked because he was an easy target for kids then it is despicable. I hope police hunt them down and they get what they deserve in jail.”

Detective Superintendent Barbara Franklin, who is leading the murder investigation, said: “The people of Town End Farm have been excellent in coming forward and providing us with the information to help this investigation. There is no motive for the assault but children often bully people with learning difficulties.”

Mental health charities have long given warning of how those with learning difficulties are easy targets for bullies. David Congdon, head of campaigns for the mental health charity Mencap, said: “Generally, people with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to abuse. We do not know the details of this case in Sunderland. Some people regard the learning disabled as being easier to pick on.

“They pick on them because they are different and think they are weaker and maybe less able to complain. They think they will get away with it.”

A Mencap report in 1999 found that nine out of ten people with learning disabilities had been bullied, and many faced harassment regularly. The report, Living in Fear, said that young people are the most likely culprits because they see people with learning difficulties as easy targets.

Nearly three quarters of the 904 people polled for the study said that they had been harassed in public places, and two thirds had been bullied by more than one person.

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