POLICE are hunting for an Asian couple who could be the key to finding a gang of robbers who kidnapped a man outside his house.

Detective Sergeant Ted Salter appealed for the couple to come forward as they investigate the crime which left a man with a cut across his face and his ear split open.

He said: "This was a frightening incident for the victim and the motive was robbery.

"I understand that an Asian couple were in the street at the time, and I urge this couple to come forward as they may have seen something that could be vital to the investigation."

DS Salter believes the couple, a middle-aged man and woman, might have seen a 34-year-old man being bundled into a white Ford Transit van on Thursday, May 22 at around 11pm.

This followed a fight in the street outside the man's house in Bowrons Avenue, Wembley, when he was approached by a gang of three black men.

They threatened him with a gun, demanding money before forcing him into the back of the van and driving away.

After two hours, they returned to the house but could not get inside, so the men forced the man to get into the boot of his own car, a blue Rover 75, and again drove away for a couple of hours.

The man was eventually released after his four-hour ordeal, when the kidnappers left him at his home and demanded he get money while they waited at the end of the road.

The man went to hospital to get treatment for his head wounds, and called police who began the hunt for his kidnappers.

DS Salter urged the Asian couple to call him on 0208 733 3159, saying information would be treated with strict confidence.