'Kidnapped' man dies three months after torture and burns ordeal

Police are now searching for two men believed to be responsible for the brutal ordeal Tomasz Samel was put through before he died two weeks ago.

The 45-year-old, originally from Poland, was taken from his home in Handsworth in a white van at around 8.45am on March 27.

He is believed to have been escorted from his home, on Raleigh Close just off Holyhead Road, to a white Peugeot Boxer van by the two men pictured.

WATCH: CCTV shows alleged kidnappers

Mr Samel was not seen again until he banged on the door of a property 80 miles away in Bickerstaffe, Lancashire, 14 hours later having suffered 75 per cent burns.

He was taken to hospital but died of his injuries in a specialist burns unit in Liverpool on June 21.

Today detectives launched a major appeal to establish the identity of his killers, and released CCTV footage showing the two suspects buying high-vis clothing at Hopwood Park Services in Bromsgrove on the morning of the alleged kidnapping.

Police, who say they are keeping an open mind about the motive, believe the clothing was used by the kidnappers to pose as men on official business to get Mr Samel to open his door.

Officers are also trying to track down the van, which was displaying the registration OY55 MVT and had been seen in Bristol and the Banbury area of Oxfordshire before the incident.

'Horrific attack'

DCI Anastasia Miller, who is leading the investigation for West Midlands Police, said: “This was an absolutely horrific attack, and we’ve been working hard to understand exactly what happened on that day, and why.

“We’re keeping an open mind about the motive, and have been carrying out extensive enquiries since March.

“What we do know is that the van that used to abduct Tomasz had been at Hopwood Park Services in Bromsgrove earlier that day.

“CCTV shows the suspects buying a fluorescent tabard which we believe was then used to give the illusion that they were at his home on legitimate business.

Appeal to Polish community

“I’d urge people to study these images very closely. We believe the answer to this lies with the people in these images.

"We’d also appeal to members of the Polish community in the UK to come forward and help us with any information they may have.

“It may be that people are reluctant to give us names or information, but they can give us information in complete anonymity."

Anyone with information has been asked to contact police via Live Chat at west-midlands.police.uk between 8am and midnight, call 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.