A SCOTTISH MAN has claimed that he was kidnapped and tortured in the Portuguese Algarve over a £2,000 (€2,336) debt.

James Ross, a father-of-two from Wick in Caithness, went to Portugal on 5 October to speak with people to whom he owed money. He disappeared shortly afterwards.

The 26-year-old has spoken of a horrifying ordeal at the hands of the men seeking his unpaid debt. After being kidnapped, Ross was reportedly kept in a cage and had an ear, two fingers and three toes chopped off.

A local paper local newspaper Correio da Manha claimed that Ross has been tortured for 13 days in the village of Boliqueime, near the town of Loule, before he managed to escape.

He was found bleeding by a local in the nearby village of Alfontes.

Four British men have been arrested.

Ross told the Scottish News of the World:

Nobody can imagine what I’ve been through. I was tortured within an inch of my life. I really did think I was a goner. I never thought I’d see my wife, family or Scotland again.

His wife Donna told the newspaper: “I never want to leave him. James is getting better, he’s improving by the day.”