Three guilty in kidnap plot trial

Three men have been found guilty of involvement in a kidnap plot where a £90,000 ransom was demanded for the return of two shopworkers.

The two victims, one of them a friend of singer Lily Allen, were kidnapped at gunpoint from a west London store last summer and were held captive for more than a week.

A spokesman for Southwark Crown Court said the jury also found two of the three men guilty of blackmail. Three others had already admitted involvement.

The victims were grabbed by a gang of six hooded men at the sports shop where they were working. They were handcuffed and bundled into separate cars while the shop was ransacked.

After the men were rescued, Ms Allen wrote on her blog: "Thank you to the Met for getting my friend back, we were all terrified and from what I hear you guys did an amazing job."

Vergil Percival, 36, of Northwold Road, Stoke Newington, London, was found guilty of two counts of kidnap and one count of blackmail.

Thijseen Johns-Elliot, 28, of Siddons Road, Sydenham, London, was found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment and one count of blackmail. Jason Goode, 27, of Verdant Lane, Hither Green, London, was found guilty of two counts of false imprisonment. He was found not guilty of the blackmail charge.

Three others earlier admitted playing a role in the plot.