Mike started the engine and they took off at speed.

Glynn could hear Sam yelling from the boot, ‘Help, help! Let me out,’ so he flicked a switch on the dashboard until the sound of Dire Straits blasted through the stereo, drowning out Sam’s screams. Then he pulled out a roll of adhesive tape and a pair of scissors from the glove compartment.

‘As soon as we get there, we’ll tape his fuckin’ gob up,’ he said. ‘We don’t want anyone to hear him screaming.’

Mike continued to drive for several minutes until they were out of the city centre and had reached a run-down part of Ancoats. It was an area to the north of the city centre, formerly an industrial hub served by the Rochdale and Ashton canals. Nowadays many of the mills and warehouses had shut and the buildings were falling into decay. Mike pulled up at an abandoned warehouse and they both got out of the car. Glynn had the tape and scissors in his hand, ready.

As soon as Mike opened the boot, Sam shot up and tried to climb out. But Mike blocked him, using his full bodyweight to pin him down while Glynn taped his mouth. Then they heaved him from the car, yanked his arms behind him and taped those together, too.

‘You can keep your fuckin’ eyes open,’ said Glynn. ‘We want you to see what happens to traitors.’

To the sound of Sam’s muffled yells, they dragged him towards the warehouse then hustled him inside. In the vast, dark interior was a series of corroding metal pillars as well as metal girders running along the length and breadth of the ceiling. They were lime green in colour but the paint was now peeling and spotted with rust. The place smelt musty after years of abandonment and decay.

Sam fought against Glynn and Mike as they hauled him along the rubble-strewn ground, stopping at one of the metal pillars. They’d already prepared the scene. Near to the pillar was a coil of rope and a pair of scissors. Another length of rope hung menacingly from one of the metal girders. Sam became frantic when he spotted it; the implication too horrific to bear.

As Sam struggled to break free, Glynn kept a tight hold of him while Mike smacked him hard across the face, temporarily stunning him into inaction. Then they thrust him towards the pillar and quickly tied him to it. Within seconds they had him restrained. They cut the tape from his wrists then secured his arms behind the pillar.

Sam’s eyes flitted around him in wide-eyed terror. But there was no escape. Again he tried to yell but the tape across his mouth prevented it. As he let out a stifled, desperate squeal his eyes told of the dread that his voice couldn’t express.