A DREAM of life in paradise ended in horror when a British man was gunned down and his wife abducted.

Engineer Jim Green, from North Yorkshire, had been looking forward to a peaceful retirement in the sunshine of Thailand.

But on Saturday, intruders forced their way into the 63-year-old's idyllic riverside home and stabbed him twice before shooting him and dumping his body on a nearby riverbank.

His 45-year-old Thai wife, Yukhonporn, was blindfolded, gagged and tied up, then driven 20 miles into the countryside where she was threatened at gunpoint before she was eventually released unharmed.

Thai police have not ruled out the possibility that it was a revenge murder or a contract killing disguised as a robbery.

Mr Green, originally from Ripon, moved to the small village of Ratchaburi, 60 miles west of Bangkok, to build his £140,000 home and retire there with his wife.

Yesterday, his brother, Derek, 46, also from Ripon, said: "As you can imagine, all the family is in total shock, horror and disbelief and at the moment we still haven't collected our thoughts. We are so numb."

Mr Green's other brother, Philip, broke down in tears as he remembered a "big family man, a jolly man, whose death has ripped the family apart."

He said: "Jim recently moved to Thailand leading up to his retirement after spending many years working in the Middle East as a construction engineer.

"He moved to Thailand to build his dream home which he planned and designed with his wife.

"The house was built on the side of the river so he could carry out his hobbies of boating and fishing in his retirement. James worked hard all his life to enable him to retire in style and be comfortable.

"The family are deeply saddened and still in shock."

A British Embassy spokes-man in Bangkok said the killers entered the house at about 7pm on Saturday. Mr Green was shot three times in the back and stabbed twice.

Investigators went to the scene after his wife arrived at Photharam police station at about 1.30am on Sunday and said she feared for her husband's life.

After a search of the house failed to locate Mr Green, police and rescue workers began scouring the area. His body was found dumped on the bank of the River Mae Klong.

Although the police have not ruled out robbery as a motive for the murder, they said the killing was believed to be premeditated.

They revealed that Mrs Green - his wife of 15 years - had given them information which contradicted details given by her relatives.

Detectives now plan to question all of her immediate family.

Mrs Green said that the two men locked her in her own pick-up and drove her away. They later took her bank card and, putting a gun to her head, demanded her PIN code.

"I stubbornly refused. So they later dropped me near a canal," she said.

The police later located the vehicle, which was abandoned and found a gun nearby.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "Next of kin have been informed and we are offering every consular assistance to the family."

Mr Green's has four grown-up children from his first wife and six grandchildren, all of whom live in England. His body is expected to be buried in Thailand.