Ashley Cole was the victim of a terrifying knifepoint robbery after a gang broke into his home in Fetcham, Surrey, in January 2020, a court heard on Monday.
As reported by the Mirror, the jurors were told that the 40-year-old had his hands tied behind his back whilst one attacker suggested: "Let's cut his fingers."
The court heard that the ex-England and Chelsea star and now first team coach at Everton also had his hands sprayed with Febreze in a bizarre attempt to destroy DNA evidence. The group - believed to be up to six men - demanded jewellery and watches before fleeing the scene when the police arrived.
Nottingham Crown Court heard that Cole's girlfriend, Sharon Canu, managed to call the police when they realised they were being burgled at around 9.30pm on January 21, 2020. However, until help arrived, the couple and their two children were said to have endured a violent ordeal that led to Cole, who was wearing only a pair of shorts, bound with cable ties and forced to his knees in front of his family.
Kurtis Dilks, of Clifton, Nottingham, is on trial accused of robbery. The 33-year-old is also charged with conspiracy to rob the home of Hull City footballer Tom Huddlestone after £500,000 worth of property was stolen in a burglary in March 2019.
Additionally, he is charged with conspiracy to burgle the £3.5million diamond-encrusted Portland Tiara from a gallery on the Welbeck Estate, Nottingham, in November 2019.
Nine others - eight men and a woman - have been accused of being "to a greater or lesser extent involved in a series of extremely serious, high profile, carefully planned and at times ruthlessly executed burglaries and violent robberies" between October 2018 and July 2019. An 11th defendant, Andrew Stokes, is charged with converting criminal property - but not in relation to the alleged raids.
In the case of Cole, Prosecutor Michael Brady QC 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 later added: "This offence was the last in the series of robberies and although committed by a number of individuals, of the defendants in the dock, it concerns only Dilks. "Again, it was a targeted offence, involving as it did Ashley Cole, the professional footballer, perceived as having items of value ready for taking by those so minded.
"As with other offences there is evidence of a reconnaissance taking place in the days before the robbery when Ms Canu saw some suspicious activity involving a white Audi. Mr Cole thought he had been followed home by someone on a motorbike when he had been on the school run. That a reconnaissance took place is strengthened by the fact that a neighbour of Ms Canu and Mr Cole’s had his ladder stolen - a ladder that was used in the robberies. The robbers would not have known about the presence of the ladder which was kept out of sight without an advance trip.
"During the evening of Tuesday January 21 2020, Mr Cole’s partner Sharon Canu, was at home with their two young children. Mr Cole returned home at about 9.30pm when they settled down upstairs to watch a film. Within a few minutes they heard a noise from outside the front of the house and placed the TV on mute. Mr. Cole described the noise as vibrating up the walls into the bedroom and was sufficiently concerned that he checked the view of household security cameras on the app he had on his mobile telephone.
"He saw two people carrying a ladder and place it against the wall to gain entry to the first-floor balcony. Mr Cole went onto the balcony and started to shout, telling the intruders he could see them. He then saw a minimum of four more people run from the bushes in the garden towards the house. The robbers were clearly not deterred by his presence. He came back in the house, shut and locked the door, told Ms Canu to get the children and call the police. Having dialled 999, Ms. Canu went to their son’s bedroom, picked him up and hid in the bedroom wardrobe with him while talking to the police. Meanwhile, Mr Cole went to check on their daughter and stayed with her in her bedroom where he knelt on the floor holding his daughter and waited for the intruders. He thought this was preferable than potentially angering the men by trying to hide."
