www.birmzisgrime.com: 2014

Bungling kidnappers Alexander Blake and Ryan Blakeney face years in jail after their plot to capture a high-level drug dealer went wrong because they targeted an innocent man.

Knife-wielding Blake, 22, and fellow crook Blakeney, 23, smashed their way into the terrified target’s Dorridge home in April last year and, after tying him up, threatened to pour boiling water over him.

Mistakenly believing him to be a drugs baron, the pair made demands for £50,000 – but rapidly reduced their demands to £10,000 when they realised their error.

They pocketed a fake Rolex watch and £150 from the 62-year-old man’s pocket – but clinging to hope he had access to large sums of cash - bundled the innocent man into the boot of his own car and drove to east Birmingham.

He was left stranded in Ninfield Road, Tyseley, locked in the rear seats but was able to wriggle free and call police on his mobile that had been left behind so his blackmailers could continue making threats and demands by phone