Ashley Cole among victims of high-value robberies, court hears

Footballers Ashley Cole and Tom Huddlestone were targeted in a series of burglaries and robberies linked to the theft of a tiara worth £3.5m, a trial has heard.

Mr Cole and his partner Sharon Canu were bound by cable ties when they were robbed at their home in January 2020.

Their two young children were present and Ms Canu was threatened with a knife, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

A total of 11 defendants have been charged with various offences.

Only one - Kurtis Dilks, 34, from Clifton in Nottingham - was allegedly involved in robbing Mr Cole and Ms Canu.

The majority of the charges relate to the theft of the £3.5m Portland tiara from the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire.

Opening the case, Michael Brady QC said the burglaries and robberies were "extremely serious, high profile, carefully planned and at times ruthlessly executed".

"On occasions these offences resulted in hundreds of thousands of pounds' worth of property being stolen," he said.

"The presence of householders did not deter these defendants. They were armed with weapons and the means to subdue them. The presence of children did not perturb them."

Mr Brady said Mr Cole - a former left-back for England, Arsenal and Chelsea - had shouted at the robbers when he saw them trying to enter his house using a ladder, but they were "clearly not deterred by his presence".

Ms Canu phoned police while hiding in a wardrobe with her son, Mr Brady said, but one of the robbers found her and took the phone.

"She then saw Mr Cole on his knees with his hands tied behind his back," Mr Brady said. "[Their daughter] was standing next to him."

Ms Canu was particularly frightened because one of the men had what she described as a "huge hammer", Mr Brady said, which had been used to smash bi-fold doors to access the house.

"Ms Canu rather bravely initially refused to have her hands bound as she was worried she wouldn't be able to look after the children," he added.

However, he said Ms Canu then complied after one of the men threatened her with a knife in front of her children, saying: "Do you want that?"

The court heard one of the men was armed with pliers and repeatedly threatened to torture Mr Cole, saying: "Let's cut his fingers."

The robbers fled when police arrived, Mr Brady said, taking property including five designer watches and a couple of mobile phones.

The Portland tiara had been stolen more than a year before this robbery, in November 2018, the court heard.

It was taken along with a diamond-encrusted brooch, and together they had a value of about £3.75m.

"It is difficult to overstate the importance and cultural value of these pieces of jewellery," Mr Brady told jurors.

"Other works of art that formed part of the same collection included masterpieces by Michelangelo, van Dyck, Stubbs and a pearl earring worn by Charles I at his execution."

The tiara and brooch have never been recovered and are thought to have been broken up for the jewels.

"Their theft is a shocking event and means that they will never again be seen in their original state," Mr Brady said.

The tiara and brooch had been on display at the Harley Gallery, which is within the Welbeck Estate, near Worksop.

Two of the defendants - Ashley Cumberpatch and Kelly Duong - are alleged to have planned the burglary when they visited the gallery with their children.

They filmed around the gallery using a GoPro, and the footage was played to jurors.

In part of it, Mr Cumberpatch can be heard saying "that's nice, I proper like that" while panning up and down the glass case that held the Portland tiara.

Later on, while filming outside, Ms Duong can be heard saying: "I'm going to look round at the sheep in a minute, so it looks like I'm filming everything."

She is also heard saying: "I'm doing it on purpose so it looks like I'm filming you two."

Mr Brady said victims were targeted because of their "significant personal wealth and valuable property", including footballer Tom Huddlestone.

Jurors were told three of the defendants - Ashley Cumberpatch, Andrew MacDonald and Kurtis Dilks - went to his house in Lincolnshire in May 2019.

He was away in Swansea at the time, playing for his club Derby County, but his wife Joanna Dixon was at home.

Jurors were told Ms Dixon was in bed with her infant son next to her asleep, when the bedroom door opened and two men wearing balaclavas walked in.

"Each man went to a different side of the bed," Mr Brady said.

"The male on Ms Dixon's side of the bed said 'don't make it difficult, we don't want to manhandle you', and raised some cable ties to emphasise the point."

Mr Brady said the men demanded jewellery and watches, and took some from two safes.

Ms Dixon, who had her son in her arms by this point, was then told to put him down so they could restrain her with cable ties, the court heard.

"She initially refused but when it became clear she would be restrained come what may, she placed her son on the bed," Mr Brady said.

"The first [cable tie] was put on too tightly for comfort but when asked to make the second a little looser he locked it even more tightly."

About £500,000 worth of jewellery and handbags were taken, including wedding and engagement rings that have not been recovered.

Jurors were also told "significant violence and threats of violence" were used against two other robbery victims, at their home in Nottingham in March 2019.

The robbers used cable ties to bind the hands and feet of a man called Martin Wardle and beat him for about half an hour, Mr Brady said.

When his wife came downstairs they also restrained her using cable ties, the court heard, and one of the robbers produced a pair of pliers.

"These pliers weren't used to cut wire, but were used to cut through Mr Wardle's right earlobe," Mr Brady said.

"He was being tortured. The robber with the pliers also tried to cut Mr Wardle's thumb with them."

Jurors were shown a photo of Mr Wardle's injured ear, which was covered in congealed blood.

Two of the robbers also threatened to kill the couple, the court heard.

"Given the severity of the beating he had already received, Mr Wardle believed these threats to be genuine," said Mr Brady.

The trial continues.

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