Man claims he offered to snatch children for Australian TV show

A contractor says he negotiated with an Australian TV network to snatch two Lebanese-Australian children from their father's family in Beirut, but the network chose a cheaper option.

Col Chapman, who describes himself as a child recovery specialist, said executives at the Nine Network's "60 Minutes" programme told him to "sharpen his pencil" when he quoted them 150,000 Australian dollars (€99,000) late last year to get the children, Lahala, six, and Noah, four, out of Lebanon.