A man looted his parents' home while they were on holiday, then tricked them into handing over ransom money by pretending he had been kidnapped.

Rupert Upton, 26, stole luxury furniture and jewellery worth £10,000 from his parents, Nicolas and Nicolette Upton, while they were in France.

He intended to sell off the property, which included antique furniture, a diamond and gold ring, and gold vases, to pay off a drug debt.

He then phoned his parents claiming he had been kidnapped by gipsies.

But police caught him after his father dropped off an envelope containing £250 and Upton emerged from undergrowth to retrieve it.

His parents did not want him prosecuted but at Lewes Crown Court yesterday Upton was sentenced to 80 hours' community service.

Stephen Shay, prosecuting, told how Upton put together a haul from his parents' house in South Street, Ditchling, between September 2 and 14 last year.

The stolen items, valued by Mrs Upton at £10,000, comprised:

Ten dining chairs
An antique card table
A silver snuff box
A white diamond gold ring
An amethyst pendant and matching earrings
Two gold vases
A christening bowl
A silver tea caddy
Two Chinese vases
A laptop computer, monitor, scanner, printer, keyboard and computer tower.

Mr Shay said: "Rupert Upton has had a long-standing and severe addiction to heroin.

"While his parents were away on holiday he let himself in and sold off a quantity of goods totalling just under £10,000.

"It seems Mr Upton's motive was to raise money in order to pay off a drug debt he owed."

His parents cut short their trip to France when their daughter phoned to say the items had been sold.

On September 15, two days after their return, Upton called his father and said he was being held against his will by gipsies who were demanding £300 for his release. The figure was later reduced to £250.

Upton followed this with a series of calls and claimed in one he had been stabbed, had cracked ribs and was bleeding from his face.

Mr Shay said: "None of this was true."

Mr Upton contacted the police, who accompanied him to an agreed meeting place where he was to hand over the ransom money in an envelope on September 16 at 1.30am.

Mr Shay said: "As the defendant emerged to take the money, police arrested him."

When interviewed by police, Upton admitted selling his parents' possessions and demanding ransom money but insisted he had been threatened by a group that included one gipsy.

Mr Shay said: "But it was clear he was never being physically held."

Upton had one previous conviction for burgling a house in April 1996, stealing a £200 carving and a cheque book.

Before yesterday's hearing he had pleaded guilty to charges of theft and blackmail.

Judge Richard Brown, sentencing Upton, told him: "A charge of blackmail usually results in a custodial sentence.

"This offence of blackmail is rather out of the ordinary. Your parents were so distraught they were not prepared to support the allegation in court.

"Since your release on bail, having spent a few months in custody, it looks as if you've got yourself reasonably well down the road to establishing a drug-free lifestyle."

When asked outside court how he felt about the sentence, Upton said: "None of your f***ing business."