A thug threatened a 15-year-old boy with a fake gun and demanded £10,000 ransom money as he held him captive for five hours.

Leon Morris, 28, pointed the imitation pistol at the lad’s friends after forcing his way into his pal’s house in Trimmer Walk, near Griffin Park football ground, in Brentford.

Morris told one of the boy’s terrified parents: “Anyone moves, they’re dead”, as he held them in the living room, before ordering the young victim to leave with them and get into a waiting car.

Morris, of Rockingham Close, Barnes, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court to three-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause alarm or distress.

Another charge of kidnap was left on file.

Detective Inspector Craig Robson, of Hounslow CID, said: "This was a terrifying attack on a family who were enjoying a quiet New Year’s Day at home together.

“People who come to Hounslow borough with any kind of firearm need to know that my officers will find them, arrest them, and working with our colleagues from the Crown Prosecution Service will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”

The boy, who cannot be named, was at his friend’s house in Trimmer Walk on New Year’s Day this year when Morris and another thug knocked on the front door at about 6.30pm.

The friend’s dad answered it to find Morris holding a silver gun. The thugs told him that his son owed them money before they grabbed the victim and said they would shoot him if they called the police.

However, the dad dialled 999 half an hour later and officers launched a manhunt. The victim’s friend’s mobile phone rang at 8.30pm as he sat in an unmarked police car, and a voice at the other end threatened to shoot the boy if they did not take £10,000 to Barnes railway station.

The 15-year-old then called at 9.20pm, saying they were going to kill him, before hanging up.

But the captors later released the boy, who escaped with a bruised jaw, and police arrested Morris as he drove along Upper Richmond Road on January 15.

Police arrested two other men over the incident but decided to take no further action.