Cousins Miles Blakeney and Luke Hazell have been convicted of kidnapping and torturing a man in a Birmingham flat as part of a £3m ransom plot that left the victim with life-changing injuries
15:08, 24 Jan 2026Updated 15:22, 24 Jan 2026
Miles Blakeney and Luke Hazell, both 37, left their victim with life-changing injuries following the violent abduction(Image: WMP)
Two cousins from Birmingham have been found guilty for their involvement in a brutal torture incident, part of a £3million kidnapping scheme. The victim was left with severe, life-altering injuries after being bound and scalded with boiling water while held hostage in an Edgbaston flat for several days.
He was eventually abandoned naked on Perrott Road in Winson Green, where a passerby alerted the authorities. The Major Crime Unit of West Midlands Police initiated an investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of cousins Miles Blakeney and Luke Hazell, both aged 37.
Although neither Blakeney nor Hazell were directly involved in the kidnapping, Blakeney was present at the flat when the victim arrived, and Hazell visited the flat after the victim attempted to escape, personally inflicting the injuries. The victim’s terrifying ordeal began around 8pm on 21 January 2023, when a Land Rover pulled up on Anglesey Street, Lozells.
The Major Crime Unit of West Midlands Police initiated an investigation (stock)(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A group of masked men emerged, chased down the victim, who is in his 20s, bundled him into the car, removed his coat and covered his head. The vehicle was then driven to a flat approximately two miles away in Edgbaston.
A relative of the victim contacted the police just after 8.10pm to report the kidnapping, before the victim himself managed to call another family member from a concealed number, reports Birmingham Live.
In a distressed state, he said: “They have kidnapped me, they have kidnapped me. They want money. They want three mill (£3m).”
In the early hours of the next day, the victim attempted to escape when one of his captors dozed off, but failed despite striking him with a vodka bottle.
Over the ensuing days, the victim was bound and subjected to boiling water torture.
He was abandoned in the street, naked and severely injured, just before 10pm on 26 January.
A thorough probe by our Major Crime Unit utilised mobile phone data, vehicle movement tracking, and DNA techniques to identify Hazell, the orchestrator of the kidnap, and Blakeney, who managed the flat.
The investigation also uncovered how the duo had discussed previous attempts to abduct the victim, with a message from Blakeney to Hazell asking: “Did you go there?” and Hazell responding: “They waited for the geezer, will try again tomorrow.”
Hazell, of Dovedale Road, Perry Common and Blakeney, of Ashley Close, Edgbaston, were found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment, blackmail, and wounding with intent on Friday (Jan 23).
Det Insp Francis Nock, of our Major Crime Unit, commented: “This was an horrific ordeal for the victim, who was left with life-changing injuries after a prolonged period of being held against his will and effectively tortured.
“The gang was willing to use extreme violence, and their victim will live with that for the rest of his life.
“While neither Blakeney or Hazell physically kidnapped the victim, Blakeney was at the flat when he arrived, and Hazell went to the flat after the victim tried to escape and personally inflicted the injuries on him.
“A huge amount of work went into identifying the kidnappers and piecing together their movements, through painstaking trawls of mobile phone data, vehicle movements, and other witness evidence has secured these convictions.”
The pair are due for sentencing in March.