A TEENAGE bride fleeing from an arranged marriage in Bolton was bundled into a car by three relatives after they traced her to Carlisle, a court heard.

Witnesses looked on in horror as Nazmeen Akhtar, aged 18, who had been given shelter in a women's refuge in the city, struggled helplessly to escape the men, including her husband and brother.

The trio were arrested a short time later as they drove south along the M6, though the teenager refused to make an official complaint.

The men -- the girl's husband, Mohammed Naveed, aged 19; her brother, Sahir Khan, aged 24; and her brother-in-law, Shakeel Ahmeed, 33 -- yesterday each admitted a public order offence at the city's magistrates court.

Linda Vance, prosecuting, said the girl moved to Bolton with her husband after they took part in an arranged marriage in Pakistan.

After 18 months of marriage, she decided to leave him.

"She moved to Carlisle on October 16 with the help of Bolton police and was placed in a safe house," said Miss Vance. "Her family and husband were unaware she was going to leave, or where she was going. She was unhappy in the marriage." On October 20, Khan saw the girl walking along a city centre street in Carlisle and approached her. Witnesses saw four Asian men get out of a red Vauxhall Cavalier and force the girl into their car.

She yelled for help, and appeared distraught, said Miss Vance.

Among the people who saw the incident were children aged four and nine, who were reduced to tears.

Another witness, taxi driver John Livingstone, followed the Cavalier as it made off but soon lost sight of it, while passer-by Angela Waterson fractured her arm after falling as she ran to help Miss Akhtar.

"She described it as an horrific incident," said Miss Vance.

The defendants, arrested at the Killington Lake Service Station on the M6, insisted Miss Akhtar got into the car willingly.

Khan said he had gone to look for his sister because he "wanted to talk to her".

He said he came to Carlisle because he had heard it had a women's refuge, and met his sister by chance. Naveed claimed to have remained inside the car throughout the incident.

Defence solicitor Patrick Shimmin said the men did not want to elaborate on what happened. Naveed and Ahmeed, who live with their uncle at Crescent Road, Great Lever, Bolton, recently arrived in the country from Pakistan and are currently unemployed.

Khan recently moved from Bolton to Slough in Berkshire, where he works as a security guard.

Noting that the men had shown no remorse, chairman of the Bench Thomas Lomas fined each of the men £100, with £25 costs.