A bar owner fled to Spain after a man who is accused of murdering a businesswoman threatened to break his legs, a court has heard.

Patrick Burns, 35, said Colin Coats took his car and demanded thousands of pounds in cash.

Coats, 42, and three other men are accused of murdering Lynda Spence, who was last seen in Glasgow in April 2011.

Coats, David Parker, 38, Paul Smith, 47, and Philip Wade, 42, deny abducting and torturing the 27-year-old financial advisor.

Mr Burns told the High Court in Glasgow that Ms Spence owed him rent arrears on the flat where her parents were staying.

He said she instructed him to meet "a guy who works for me" who would deliver the rent.

The witness said Coats gave him £1200 but around a year later, he demanded "his" money back, plus interest.

At a meeting in May 2011, Coats took Mr Burns' BMW car .

Mr Burns, who said he owned the Bier Stube bar in Shawlands, said Coats met him at the bar in June 2011 and asked for cash from the till and when he refused "he told me he'd break my legs".

The trial continues