NI man 'held in South Africa'

Andrew Hawthorne was to meet friends in Cape Town

A County Antrim man has said he fears for his son's life after friends received messages saying he was being held in South Africa by a group who have threatened to shoot him.

Sherman Hawthorne said he and his wife are considering travelling to South Africa as they are becoming more and more anxious about their 26-year-old son Andrew.

Mr Hawthorne said Andrew had been learning how to fly in the United States and had recently travelled to South Africa to visit a friend whose family run a safari business.

Mr Hawthorne, who is originally from Islandmagee, but is now living in England, told BBC Radio Ulster's Talkback programme that the last thing he had heard from Andrew was that he was in Cape Town, where he planned to meet up with friends.

It sounds too serious, because of some of the things he said, really just telling his mother and father all the best, and that he loved us

Sherman Hawthorne

But on Wednesday morning he received a phone call telling him that two of Andrew's friends in Northern Ireland had received news that he was being held against his will.

"This morning I got a phone call from a neighbour to say he was in trouble by a group of people - I'm not sure the exact name of the group.

"They said they were going to shoot him.

"The latest information I have is that he has been taken from Cape Town to Johannesburg."

Mr Hawthorne said that he did not think the messages were from someone playing a sick prank.

"There have been phone calls to two friends. At first they thought he was pulling their leg," he said.

Appeal for help

"But it sounds too serious, because of some of the things he said, really just telling his mother and father all the best, and that he loved us.

"I can't see Andrew sending messages like that to his friends."

Mr Hawthorne said that the family have been trying to get any information about their son's whereabouts and he appealed to anyone who knows anything about him to contact them.

"We have been frantic trying to get in touch with the Foreign Office and the consul in South Africa to try and find out more details," he added.