19 December 2023 , 17:46
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A kidnapped British diplomat in Ecuador is well known for his business ties in Yorkshire that includes a pleasure ground.
Colin Armstrong, a former British honorary consul in Guayaquil, was abducted in the early hours of Saturday from a farm he owned, Ecuadorian police confirmed. A video said to show signs of forced entry, along with traces of blood and ransacked rooms, is understood to be circulating on social media.
The ongoing investigation to locate Mr Armstrong is being handled by Ecuador National Police director Cesar Augusto Zapata along with a specialist anti-kidnap and extortion unit. In a tweet the force said: “Following an apparent criminal act against a businessman in the early hours of this morning in Los Rios, specialist police units are carrying out operative and investigative work on the ground.”
British intelligence services are also said to be assisting the Ecuadorian-led investigation into the whereabouts of the missing expat. Police in Ecuador are believed to have switched their focus to Katherine Paola Santos, Mr Armstrong’s partner who is reportedly being quizzed by the authorities after being rescued.
As well as founding and owning a large agricultural supply company in the South American country, he is a director along with his son of the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate near Leyburn in North Yorkshire which has been the family home for more than 45 years. His grandfather Robert, who was a jockey and horse trainer bought the estate in 1904 and his father Gerald was also a jockey.
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Mr Armstrong pictured with Katherine Paola Santos (Instagram)
Mr Armstrong has been kidnapped in Ecuador (instagram)The Forbidden Corner, the self-styled 'Strangest Place in the World', in Tupgill Park, is a four-acre labyrinth of paths and tunnels leading to surreal follies and bizarre sculptures, YorkshireLive reports. It was built in the 1980s by the owner of Tupgill Park, Colin Armstrong, with architect Malcolm Tempest, as a private pleasure garden.
The park was, by popular demand, opened to the public in 1997. Forbidden Corner had failed to obtain permission from the Dales national park authority to open the garden to the public.
The park applied for retrospective permission in 2000 which was rejected by the park authority on the grounds that too many people were visiting by car and the gardens were not in keeping with the Dales national park. The authority ordered the park to close to the public and for the follies to be removed.
This was overturned on appeal following a petition with 10,000 signatures on condition the number of visitors per hour was reduced to 120.
He is a former honorary consul in Guayaquil (Agripac/AFP via Getty Images)On its website it states: “Thanks to everyone who has visited us and helped to keep our gardens open, you can come and enjoy the unique labyrinth of Tunnels, Chambers, Follies and surprises created in a four acre garden in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. See you soon.”
A spokeswoman for the folly garden created by Mr Armstrong said they were aware of the reports of the kidnapping in Ecuador. "The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Forbidden Corner are with the Armstrong family," she told the BBC.
Ecuador’s National Police have so far made only one official comment on the kidnap, which happened around 2.45am local time on Saturday at the British businessman’s ranch called Rancho Rodeo Grande. The ranch is located near the town of Baba in Los Rios province, two hours drive north of Guayaquil.