A man was kidnapped from his home by two men demanding money, a court heard.
Richard Thompson's abductors threatened to take him to Beachy Head and burn him if he did not hand over £1,000.
Mr Thompson was woken by banging on the front window of his home in Howletts Close, Eastbourne, in the early hours of November 11 last year.
Hove Crown Court heard he was threatened with a chisel, handcuffed and frogmarched out of his Eastbourne home and driven off in a car.
He tried to defend himself with a meat cleaver but handed it over to Andrew Williams and John Dewar after they allegedly threatened his friend's wife and her son, who were staying with him.
William Hughes, prosecuting, said: "Williams was shouting that Mr Thompson owed him £1,000.
"Williams threatened to take Mr Thompson to Beachy Head and to burn him if he did not hand over the money."
Williams and Dewar allegedly left Mr Thompson in handcuffs in Ashington Gardens, Eastbourne.
Williams, 43, of The Crossway, Stone Cross, Pevensey, and Dewar, 45, of Fountain Close, Eastbourne, both deny kidnap and blackmail.
The trial continues.
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