Police in Como have confirmed that a British language teacher has been arrested after allegedly attacking and torturing the husband of a woman he was said to have had an affair with.

Brian Avery, 47, is alleged to have tied the man to a chair in an underground garage before pistol-whipping him and attacking him with an electric stun gun over a ten-minute period on January 13, in an attack reminiscent of the film Reservoir Dogs.

Police said that the unnamed victim, 40, shouted for help when a car entered the garage, and the driver called police. He was taken to hospital for treatment and is expected to remain there for at least a week.

Mr Avery has been giving English lessons in Italy for the past three years, and is alleged to have had an affair with one of his students, Hx Ling, 41. Her husband named Mr Avery to police as his attacker, and Mr Avery was arrested at his home, where police said they had found a number of Tazer stun guns.

A police spokesman in Como said the victim “told us that the English teacher had been having a relationship for some time with his wife”.

Avery, originally from Ramsgate, Kent, has already appeared before judge Luciano Storaci in an attempt to get bail. He pleaded his innocence and claimed mistaken identity.

Police said the victim, who needed hospital treatment, was attacked by Avery as he walked to his underground garage.The attack stopped only after the victim managed to shout out when he heard a car pulling into the underground garage complex.

When officers arrived, the victim gave Avery’s name and he was arrested a short while later as he left his nearby home. Police said that inside they discovered several stun guns.

The spokesman said: “The man was arrested after he was identified by the victim. He told us that the English teacher had been having a relationship for some time with his wife.

“When the victim arrived at his garage, he was threatened with a gun and bundled into the garage where he was handcuffed and pistol-whipped.

“He was also zapped with a Taser gun and he suffered serious injuries and he is still in hospital and will remain there for another week at least.

“He was identified by the victim, who had managed to raise the alarm when two people drove into the underground garage. They said they saw a pistol but so far we have not found a firearm but several electric stun guns.”

Avery is facing charges of kidnap, aggravated assault and illegal detention of a firearm and faces a minimum of 15 years in jail.

Judge Storaci ruled that Mr Avery could be detained in Bassone jail for as long as a year while the investigation continues.

The British consulate in Milan said Mr Avery had been seen in prison yesterday and was “in good shape, considering the circumstances”. He had an injury to his foot but maintained this had been incurred before the alleged assault in the carpark.

Before moving to Italy as a private English language tutor Mr Avery had lived in the Netherland and the Canary Islands.

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