A British man arrested by US troops in Iraq while searching for his young daughter said last night he was treated like a terrorist suspect.

At one point, Michael Todd, 33, said he thought he was going to be killed as the lights went out where he was being held and he heard what he took to be the "click of machine guns". Mr Todd, a street performer from York, was held in custody by the US troops for 22 days.

He arrived back at Teesside International Airport yesterday on board a military transport plane bringing home British soldiers serving in Iraq.

Mr Todd, who said he was physically abused and mentally tortured, travelled to the region shortly before the outbreak of war to find 19-month-old Sajida.

He said the child was his by a woman known only as Abla, with whom he had a relationship when she was a student in Leeds.

Abla, 32, disappeared from Leeds soon after she discovered she was pregnant, despite the couple's plans to marry, said Mr Todd.

US forces arrested Mr Todd when he stumbled into a military operation.

He said he was badly treated when he was first arrested and said he had a bag placed over his head, his hands tied behind his back and was spat at and punched.

Eventually, British authorities in Baghdad arranged for Mr Todd's release.

Last night, he said he was considering his legal position and was determined to return to Iraq in a bid to find his daughter.