Duncan Bannatyne offers £50k to break man's arms

Duncan Bannatyne briefly offered £50,000 to anyone who would break the arms of a man who threatened to hurt his daughter.

The Dragons' Den star swiftly deleted the message on Twitter and replaced it with a £30,000 reward for information leading to the man's address.

Bannatyne had initially received a tweet saying: "I'm looking for a £35,000 investment to stop us hurting your Hollie Bannatyne. We will bring hurt and pain into your life. We are watching her. She is very attractive. Want photos?

"Duncan Bannatyne - Hollie is going to get hurt. We will bring pain and fear. You should have expected us. We are the men of Belarus.

"We do not give up. We will stand tall. You should have paid. £35,000 to stop it. Contact us to pay. We are watching. Expect us. We are the men of Belarus."

Bannatyne then wrote to his followers: "I offer £25,000 reward for the capture of the coward... Double if his arms are broken first."

After deleting that message, he added: "Ok, £30,000 reward for info leading to his arrest."

Another message which was later deleted read: "Go home to your mum and cry we are closing in on you little boy."

In a statement, Bannatyne said: "My family is well protected but I take any threat to them very seriously and will do all I can to ensure the person or people involved are caught."

Durham Police later confirmed that Bannatyne had reported the threats to them.

Last year, trainee accountant Paul Chambers, 26, was found guilty of writing a message of a "menacing nature" on Twitter after joking about blowing Robin Hood Airport "sky high" if it remained closed when he planned to take a flight. His initial appeal against the conviction was rejected in November.