'Absolutely terrified': Alex Curran shouted at the raiders to leave her houseThe wife of England footballer Steven Gerrard was threatened by burglars who warned her they would ‘take her kids’ during a terrifying raid on their home, a court heard yesterday.
Alex Curran came face to face with the masked gang, who demanded she hand over jewellery and the contents of a safe during the break-in at their £3million mansion.
The 27-year-old shouted at the men to leave and initially denied there wasa safe in the house.
But when one threatened to get a knife and take the couple’s young daughters, then aged three and one, Miss Curran told them it was in a downstairs cupboard.
The gang ‘dragged’ a horrified Miss Curran to the safe and forced her to hand over the valuable silver Rolex watch she was wearing.
They escaped through patio doors which they had smashed to gain entry to the 29-year-old Liverpool captain’s home.
Details of the ordeal emerged after career criminal Martin Wilson, 22, changed his plea and admitted the burglary at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday.
Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, told the court the robbery happened in December 2007 when Gerrard was in France, leading his team to victory in a Champions’ League match against Marseille.
Career criminal: Martin Wilson, who admitted burglary at Steven Gerrard's House At around 9.30pm the women, who were upstairs, heard a loud smash and went to the landing to investigate, Mr Pickavance said.
They saw a group of men in the hallway and Miss Curran shouted to them to ‘leave now’.
But, the barrister said, the thieves raced up the stairs and demanded: ‘Where’s the f****** safe?’ and ‘Where’s the f****** jewellery?’
Miss Curran told the men there was no safe and jewellery was not kept at the house.
One of the gang directed another to ‘get the blade out of the car’, before telling Miss Curran: ‘If you don’t tell us where the safe is, we’ll take the kids.’
Mr Pickavance said: ‘The men attempted to take the safe but they could not move it very far because it was too heavy. So they began to ransack the room.’
Miss Johnston picked up a telephone and tried to dial 999, but she was caught before she could get through.
She lied to the raiders, however, telling them she had spoken to an operator.
The gang fled but police tracked down Wilson through his mobile phone. He is currently serving a six-year jail term after admitting being part of a gang that robbed wealthy Merseysiders last June.
Technical evidence proved a mobile used by Wilson in one of those robberies had also been used close to Gerrard’s home on the night of the raid, the court heard.
Victims: Alex and husband Steven Gerrard were raided in December 2007. The couple are pictured here in Southport earlier this month
Target: The raiders struck at the couple's home in Formby, Merseyside - pictured here a day after the robbery - while Gerrard played in Marseille After the burglary Miss Curran, who did not attend yesterday’s hearing, wrote in a newspaper column that it had been ‘absolutely terrifying’.
‘Lilly and Lexie were my biggest concern. Thankfully, they are absolutely fine, they managed to sleep through the whole thing thank goodness.’
A victim impact statement described her continuing ‘shock and fright’.
Gerrard was the sixth Liverpool footballer to be targeted, prompting the club to provide extra security at players’ houses during away matches.
Wilson, of Stockbridge Village, Merseyside, whose convictions include drugs and motoring offences, was remanded in custody until sentencing later this month.
source: dailymail
