Kidnap victim was forced to take drugs during a 10-hour ordeal

A MAN was forced to take drugs to prove he was not an undercover police officer during a 10-hour kidnap ordeal.

The victim, from Sheffield, who suffered from anxiety and had never taken illegal drugs before, was held at knifepoint in two flats, physically assaulted and told that his pet dog would be “chopped up” during his ordeal last June.

Liam Seeley, 22, of Ochre Dike Close, Sheffield, was jailed yesterday for 10 years after a jury found him guilty of robbery, kidnap, false imprisonment and threatening with a knife.

Seeley, who was on prison licence at the time for a previous robbery offence, was given an extra two years in jail after admitting another knifepoint robbery at a cashpoint machine in Sheffield just a few weeks later.

Alison Ellis, of Hill Top Crescent, Sheffield, was also convicted by the jury of robbery, kidnap and false imprisonment. The 54-year-old, who had previously served two lengthy prison sentences in 2003 and 2007 for robbery, was jailed for nine years.

During a hearing which involved a video link between the crown courts in Sheffield and Bradford, Recorder David Kelly described the kidnap as a prolonged and sustained campaign of intimidation during which their victim feared for his life.

Once inside the man’s flat during a later stage of the kidnap, Ellis took stolen cash to buy drugs and then demanded more money.

The man was taken to two nearby cash machines where he withdrew further cash before he was eventually able to run back to his home and pick up a few belongings and his dog.

He contacted the police the next day and the court heard that he had subsequently had to leave the area where he had lived.