Detectives in the North are appealing for information following the kidnapping of an 11-year-old boy from his home in Greenisland, Co Antrim in the early hours of this morning.
The boy - who has since been released following the payment of a ransom - and his father were awoken by the kidnappers some time after 12.30 a.m. and were both hooded and bound and taken from their home against their will.
The boy was placed in the boot of the family car and driven away while the father was put into the back of another car and driven to a house. While at the house, the father was burned with cigarettes and assaulted and told he had to pay a ransom to ensure the safety of his son.
The man was released at Troopers Lane, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim at around 5.30 a.m and told to bring a ransom to Ballyduff Bay at 9.30 a.m.
There, he was met by a man on a red and white trials bike. Before leaving with the ransom the motorcyclist handed over the keys to the stolen family car and instructed the father that he would find the car at a monument in Newtownabbey. The father found his son in the boot of the car.
While the boy was physically uninjured the family are still traumatised by the ordeal.
Detectives in Carrickfergus are appealing for information.