Man's feet burnt by kidnappers as part of blackmail plot - court

KIDNAPPERS burnt a man’s feet as they held him hostage in a Birmingham flat and demanded large sums of money from his family, a jury heard.

- CARL JACKSON

The victim's sister received a call claiming his abductors wanted ‘three mill,’ prosecutors told Birmingham Crown Court.

The plot failed and he was freed after five days when a motorist discovered him in the street naked, injured and pleading for help.

Luke Hazell, 37, from Dovedale Road, Perry Common, is accused of masterminding the plot, which allegedly involved recruiting his cousin Miles Blakeney, also 37, of Ashley Close, Edgbaston.

Both men deny charges of conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment, blackmail, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and an alternative of unlawful wounding.

Opening the case prosecutor Jonathan Barker said at 10pm on January 26, 2023 a female motorist came across a naked man in Perrott Road, Winson Green, as he tried to flag down another car. Mr Barker said: “She saw the man was badly injured. He spoke to her and said words to the effect of ‘please help me, I've been kidnapped!