A MURDER investigation has been launched following the death of a man three months after he was kidnapped from his home and tortured.

Polish national Tomasz Samel, aged 45, was taken from his home on Raleigh Close, Handsworth, in a white van by men police are now trying to identify.

They escorted him to the vehicle, a white Peugeot Boxer, before driving away, at around 8.45am on March 27.

At 10.45pm that day, he banged on the door of a property in Bickerstaffe, Lancashire, to get help.

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Police are looking to find out the identity of these suspects

Suffering from 75 per cent burns, he was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Mr Samel died in a specialist burns unit in Liverpool on June 21.

Officers have now launched a major appeal to establish the identity of his killers, as they released clear CCTV footage of two suspects.

They are also trying to establish the current location of the van, which was displaying the registration OY55 MVT. It had previously been seen in Bristol and the Banbury area of Oxfordshire.

DCI Anastasia Miller, who leading the investigation, 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.

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Tomasz Samel

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

"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 0121 626 6025, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.