A growing number of people are falling victim to kidnappings in Avon and Somerset. The latest Home Office figures show there were 147 crimes of kidnapping recorded by Avon and Somerset Police in 2021.
That was a 37% increase on 107 the previous year and the highest number in the last decade. It comes as a fictional kidnapping has been played out onscreen in the long-running soap Coronation Street.
Fans of the show have recently been following the troubles of Kelly Neelan - played by Millie Gibson - who was abducted by her criminal dad’s old acquaintances in a bid to get a £50,000 ransom. Kidnapping is defined as taking someone away by force or fraud and then keeping them illegally imprisoned without their consent.
