A North Yorkshire estate has issued a statement after its owner was kidnapped from his home in Ecuador.

As The Press reported, Colin Armstrong, 78, was snatched from his ranch in Los Ríos in the early hours of Saturday (December 16), according to local media.

He is the former UK honorary consul in Guayaquil and owner of the Tupgill Park Estate in Coverham near Leyburn in the Yorkshire Dales.

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 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 Tupgill Park Estate confirmed to The Press that Mr Armstrong was kidnapped and said “everything is being done” to ensure his safe release.

“Tupgill Park Estate wishes to express their sincere devastation at the situation and that all of our thoughts and prayers are with the Armstrong family,” they 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.

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

Mr Armstrong’s family has lived on the 500-acre 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.