A MASKED gang kidnapped a man from his home near Consett, subjected him to hours of torture and then dumped him on a deserted stretch of road hundreds of miles away.

The 27-year-old victim, from Burnhope, is recovering in hospital after sustaining serious injuries in his terrifying ordeal.

Det Chief Supt Ian Scott, head of Durham CID, said: "At this stage, there is no known motive for what has clearly been a sustained and savage beating.

"We have so far been unable to identify the property where he was held or indeed the exact point where he was released by his captors."

The man, who lived alone and who has not been named by police, was abducted as he returned to his bungalow behind the Burnhope Lodge bed and breakfast in Wrights Way, Burnhope, next door to the Top Shop general store.

He arrived home at around 4am on Saturday and was getting ready for bed when three masked men forced their way in through the front door.

They bundled him into a vehicle and drove to an unknown address in the North-West where they gave him a sustained, vicious beating for several hours.

The tormentors then dumped the injured man on a quiet stretch of road. Despite suffering horrendous injuries, he managed to make it back to the North-East and was immediately taken to hospital.

A police spokesman said three masked men had forced their way into the house.

"After being repeatedly punched and kicked, he was frog-marched out of the house and into a vehicle. The victim was then driven to an as yet unknown location, somewhere in the north west of England.

"He was held in a room for several hours by his abductors and during that time he was systematically beaten, suffering serious injuries. He was finally taken from the property and dumped at a roadside by his abductors." The area surrounding the man's home was cordoned off at the weekend while a police forensics team carried out an investigation.

The people of Burnhope claimed they were afraid of being the victims of reprisals. One man, who asked not to be named, said people valued their homes and businesses too much to talk about what had happened.

Detectives are anxious to speak to anyone in the village who might have seen any strangers on foot acting suspiciously or who spotted any vehicles that were unusual to the area.

No-one was available at the Burnhope Lodge for interview. A van was parked in front of the wrought-iron gates to the complex, which were also padlocked.

The front door of one of the bungalows appeared to have been smashed and had been boarded up.

Anyone with information should contact Durham Police on (0191) 386 4929, or leave a confidential message on the Crimestoppers line on 0800 555111.