A GANG who kidnapped a man outside his Worcestershire home and subjected him to torture in a 28-hour ordeal have been given long jail sentences.

Victim Wasim Yaqub, who was snatched from Upton Road, Kidderminster, fears there is a bounty on his head, Worcester Crown Court heard.

Alan Kent, QC, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court, said the 37-year-old had been on the run from ringleader Tariq Mahmood for four years until August 3 last year. Mahmood believed Mr Yaqub owed him £30,000 from a deal in Bulgarian property that went wrong.

Robert Collins, aged 58, of Severnside, Bewdley, the father of Mr Yaqub's partner, told Mahmood where they were and he and Robert Watters, grabbed Mr Yaqub while his distraught wife watched. They took him to a storage unit on a farm in Birmingham where he was stripped, kept in the dark and beaten with hammers. He was put in the boot of a car and dumped when passersby heard his cries for help.

Tariq Mahmood aged 41, of Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, was jailed for a total of 17 years after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment, grievous bodily harm with intent and unlawful wounding. Paul Murray, aged 42, of no fixed address, was found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment and grievous bodily harm with intent and got 15 years. Tariq Mahmood's brother, Tehery Mahmood, aged 37, of Stechford, Birmingham, was jailed for 14 years after a jury found him guilty of false imprisonment and grievous bodily harm. Steven Taylor, aged 37, of Aston, Birmingham, was jailed for two-and-a-half years after he was found guilty of false imprisonment and Watters, aged 47, was given three years after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap.

Collins will be sentenced later. Another man was also given 17 years but cannot be named by court order due to further proceedings.