Scores of residents joined in a protest on Thursday to ask for the freedom of a jailed Balham entrepreneur in Dubai.

More than 70 people arrived at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in support of Safi Qurashi, who they say was wrongly imprisoned.

The property tycoon, who went to Dubai in 2004, was prosecuted after cheques he wrote bounced - a criminal offence in the strict Arab country.

A petition with 500 signatures was handed to an official, with the hope of an Eid pardon to Mr Qurashi and his two business associates.

The crowd was mainly made up of supporters from Balham, but some people travelled from as far away as Birmingham.

According to organisers, staff at the embassy tried to disband the protest but police informed them it was lawful.

Mr Qurashi’s brother, Farhan, said: “All we want it for someone to look at the case and to understand it.

“We are not going to stop until we’ve got him out. Safi is sad and shocked that he’s still in jail after all this time.

“This shows that anyone who goes out there is potentially at risk.”

The cheques were written as a “security” to guarantee regular payments, which is standard business practise in Dubai.

Mr Qurashi, 41, got into trouble when a business client cashed these cheques instead of giving them back after the account was settled, as agreed.

They bounced, leading to his arrest and trial - which family members said only lasted a few minutes.

The entrepreneur, who lived in Ritherdon Road, hit the headlines last year when he bought a £43 million island shaped like Great Britain off the Dubai coast.

In a documentary for the ITV show Piers Morgan On Dubai, he said he aimed to build a glamorous resort that would be a tribute to his home city.