The owner of a North Yorkshire estate has been kidnapped from his home in Ecuador.

British businessman and the former UK honorary consul in Guayaquil, Colin Armstrong, was taken from his ranch in Los Ríos in the early hours of yesterday (December 16), according to local media.

Police in Ecuador confirmed they were investigation an alleged criminal act against a businessman but did not name Mr Armstrong.

Local media report that Mr Armstrong, 78, and a Colombian woman – believed to be his partner – were taken.

He was driven away in his own black BMW, which was later found dumped, a police report seen by The Guardian said.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are in contact with the Ecuadorian authorities following the disappearance of a British man and are supporting his family.”

Mr Armstrong runs an agricultural supplies company in Ecuador.

He is the owner of the Tupgill Park Estate in Coverdale, near Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales.

In the 1980s he designed the pleasure ground Forbidden Corner which is now open as a visitor attraction.

Mr Armstrong’s family has lived on the Tupgill estate since Victorian times.

He was Honorary Consul to Guayaquil until 2016.

An Honorary Consul is a voluntary position that is appointed based on their extensive knowledge of a region and an established network that enables them to support British interests and to provide support to British Nationals who find themselves in difficulty.