THREE men were due to appear in court today on charges of kidnapping a man in East Lancashire.

Nawaz Khan, 21, of Preston New Road; Tariq Ellahi, 29, of Trevor Close, and Irfan Mahmood, 21, of Whalley New Road, all Blackburn are jointly charged with kidnapping Akhtar Mahmood.

All three were remanded in custody by magistrates in Birmingham last week and ordered to appear at the city's Crown Court today.

Mr Akhtar, who lives in Birmingham, was allegedly held at an address in Little Harwood for four days in early January, during which time he suffered numerous injuries.

He was released after a sum of money was allegedly handed over.

Police officers from Lancashire, Yorkshire and the West Midlands were involved in the efforts to find Mr Mahmood.

All three defendants were represented by Blackburn solicitor Basharat Ditta.