A MAN faked his own kidnapping and demanded £80 in ransom money from his terrified pregnant girlfriend so he could go drinking with his mates.

Leigh Ford, 45, staged a series of frantic phone calls to his partner Zoe Doyle claiming his kidnappers would break his legs, cut off his genitals and throw boiling water over him.

Leigh Ford's partner Zoe Doyle said she had been left frantic after receiving a call demanding ransom money Credit: Focus Features

The alleged kidnap sparked a major 24-hour police operation costing £30,000 that eventually saw Ford's claims fall to pieces after CCTV footage showed him leaving a shop with two friends carrying booze.

But incredibly, partner Zoe Doyle has forgiven Ford for the cruel hoax that saw him jailed for 16 weeks in February and miss the birth of their child.

The 35-year-old, from Blackpool, said: "At first, I just thought he was winding me up. But he sounded really scared. The phone went dead and then it rang again. I could hear men shouting in the background, threatening to break Leigh’s legs and throw boiling water over him.

"They were threatening to mutilate him, cut off his genitals, and I was panic-stricken."

Leigh Ford, 45, pretended to have been kidnapped Credit: Focus Features

The mum said she had forgiven her partner for the prank Credit: Focus Features

Zoe, who was 35 weeks pregnant at the time, said: "Leigh was screaming, begging me to pay their ransom. I told him I would send everything I had in the bank, over to the account they gave me."

Zoe transferred £80 - all she had - into the designated account before calling police.

A helicopter and trained negotiator was called in to deal with the situation that lasted through the night.

It wasn't until the early hours of the following day in January this year that Ford himself came home - and was immediately arrested, questioned and charged with wasting police time.

Leigh Ford was jailed for 16 weeks for wasting police time Credit: Focus Features

Zoe said: "He appeared in court the following day and I was stunned when I heard the truth. I just couldn’t believe that Leigh would do that. He had wasted all those police resources. He had put me through hell.

"The silly thing was, it was his own money. He could have spent it if he had wanted. It just didn’t make sense.

"Leigh was full of apologies, he said his friends had put him up to it and he had thought it was a prank that wouldn’t go as far as it did. He’d had a few drinks and he got carried away.

"I was absolutely furious. I felt like strangling him. He had caused so much stress and worry and it was all for nothing."

Ford, 45, admitted wasting police time and collapsed in the dock at Blackpool Magistrates' Court as he was jailed for 16 weeks in February.

But incredibly, Zoe has since forgiven her partner.

She said: "He was a total idiot. I’ve made that clear to him. But it was one-off and our relationship is otherwise very strong. I know Leigh loves me and he has done his best to make things up to me.

"He deserves a second chance."

Prosecutor Pam Smith said Ford had continued to lie after being caught by police until he was confronted with the video evidence.

Stephen Duffy, defending, said: "The whole kidnap story had been made up by Ford to get his hands on a small amount of money. He had no idea what the police reaction was going to be. He was stupid and it was out-of-character.

"Whilst he was out shopping he came across an old friend who had fallen on hard times and he wanted to help him out. This is a bizarre case... a prank which went totally wrong."