Man charged with Co-op blackmail

A man has been charged with attempted blackmail after allegedly warning a supermarket people would be killed unless it paid him £3m.

A Co-op branch in Erdington, north Birmingham, received a threatening letter signed in the name of Scorpio, said police.

Scorpio is the name of a serial killer in the 1971 film Dirty Harry.

A 39-year-old man from Birmingham is due to appear before magistrates on 21 July, West Midlands Police said.

In a statement a spokesman said: "The charge follows an investigation by the Serious and Organised Crime Unit after a letter was received by the Co-Op supermarket in Erdington demanding £3m or people would be killed."

The Serious and Organised Crime Unit was set up last year to tackle organised criminality, drugs and firearms trafficking, armed robbery, gangs, kidnaps and crimes in action.