A POLICE hunt to find those responsible for kidnapping a man, tying his hands together and leaving him in a car with gas canisters is continuing.

The victim, an Asian man in his mid-30s, was discovered in the two-door vehicle on a road in an industrial area of Birming-ham by a passing lorry driver at 10.20am on Sunday.

West Midlands Police said he had been put in the car against his will and told that it contained a bomb.

The two-door vehicle was parked on the junction of Clarel Avenue and Landor Street, in Saltley.

The man, not identified, was positioned in the front of the car with about six beer-sized gas canisters around his abdomen.

He was removed from the vehicle following a seven-hour operation involving the emergency services, an Army bomb disposal team and trained negotiators.

Ch Supt Tom Coughlan said: “This incident has now become a criminal investigation.”

The man was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg but was otherwise “fine”, police said.

Factories were evacuated and the rail line shut from Birmingham New Street to Birmingham International.