Dubai may have become a dream destination for British holidaymakers, but one Worcester man can't wait to leave. The only problem is, they won't let him.

Before you think that there must be worse things than being stuck in this spectacular holiday resort overlooking the glittering blue of the Persian Gulf, bear in mind that Mark Glass hasn't seen his wife and two young daughters for a whole year, is not allowed to work so has no money, and sleeps on a friend's floor every night because he has nowhere to live.

Mr Glass's bizarre predicament came about when an acquaintance borrowed his hire car and crashed it, whereupon the authorities confiscated Mr Glass's passport. That was in April 2006, and he's still waiting for them to give it back.

The Kafka-esque nightmare in which Mr Glass has been trapped for the last 13 months should never have been allowed to happen.

No one should be held hostage because of a minor traffic accident - especially one that was someone else's fault.

Of course, there's nothing we can do to change the way the law works in a foreign country, however alien or absurd we may find it.

What we can do is use all the powers at our disposal to reunite Mr Glass with the family who are waiting at their Foregate Street home, wondering when the husband and father they have not seen for more than a year will return.

We therefore call on anyone with influence to put whatever pressure they can on the government of Dubai to secure Mr Glass's freedom.

It's time for daddy to come home.