Man admits supermarket blackmail plot

A man today admitted sending a supermarket a £3m demand in a blackmail plot inspired by a character in a Clint Eastwood film.

Appearing at Birmingham Crown Court, Mark Hazel, 39, admitted making the cash demand in a letter signed "Scorpio" - a name used by a serial killer in the 1971 film Dirty Harry.

Hazel, of Deakin Road, Erdington, was charged after an investigation by the West Midlands Serious and Organised Crime Unit.

The blackmail letter was received by a Co-op store in the Erdington area of Birmingham in July last year.

Hazel was bailed to appear at Birmingham Crown Court for sentencing on a date to be fixed.