A MONEY-LENDER kidnapped a man at knife-point and threatened to "stab him and chop him up", a court heard.

Kevin McCully, 31, allegedly dragged Christopher Murray, 23, out of a shop before bundling him into a car and taking him to a flat in Oxclose, Washington, Wearside.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he then threatened his life if he did not pay up £2,000, which McCully said he owed. Mr Murray said; "He said he wanted £2,000 and, if I didn't give him it, he would kill me. He had a claw hammer in his hand and a bat when he was making threats."

Mr Murray had borrowed money from McCully in the past, at an interest rate of 100 per cent, but said it was all paid back.

Prosecutor Michael Hodson told the court that last January, Mr Murray had borrowed £30.

He was ordered to pay £60 back, and over the next few months he borrowed more. After running up a debt of £250, he finally managed to pay off the lot.

But the court heard that in April, Mr Murray was dragged from Singh's VG shop in Donwell, Washington, at knife-point and taken to Philip Mason's flat in Bamburgh Close, Oxclose.

Mr Murray's father arrived at the flat after he too had been asked for money. He was also allegedly threatened before he and his son left.

McCully and Mason were arrested but they claimed Mr Murray had gone to the flat voluntarily. McCully, of Lambton Centre, Lambton, Washington, denies kidnap, making threats to kill and unlawful imprisonment. Mason, 29, denies false imprisonment. The trial continues.