Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish ‘beaten and held at knifepoint by masked raiders in front of wife and kids’ in burglary
OLYMPIC cyclist Mark Cavendish was beaten and held at knifepoint in front of his wife and kids during a burglary, a court heard.
The cycling hero, 37, who was recovering from a collapsed lung and broken ribs at the time, was “pounced on” by balaclava clad raiders who stole watches worth £700,000.
Mark’s model wife Peta Todd, 36, was also threatened as she desperately tried to protect their three-year-old son under the duvet of their bed.
Romario Henry, 31, and Oludewa Okorosobo, 28, are both accused of being part of the 2.30am raid on November 27, 2021.
Prosecutor Edward Renvoize told the Chelmsford Crown Court: “This was not a run-of-mill robbery by opportunist thieves.
“It was a well-orchestrated, well-executed, planned invasion of the home of a well-known individual with the intention to obtain high-value timepieces.
“The perpetrators had large knives and concealed their identities with balaclavas.
“They threatened the couple and meted out violence to Mark Cavendish to meet their demands.
“They were able to steal watches worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
“It’s quite clear they were interested in obtaining watches.”
The court heard Mark and Peta’s home is in a semi-rural location in Ongar, Essex.
The couple were in bed with their wee son at the time of the break-in. They were woken up by the sound of voices.
Mr Renvoize said: “Mr Cavndish was recovering from injuries at the time so Mrs Cavendish got up to see what was going on.
“As she began to go down the stairs, she became aware of people running towards her. She turned and ran back up, shouting for her husband to get into the bedroom.
“Mr Cavendish tried to find the panic alarm. As he did so, two of the assailants pounced on him and started punching him, demanding that he turn the alarm off.
“One produced a knife and threatened to ‘stab him up’ in front of his children.
“Mrs Cavendish was understandably looking after her three-year-old child, keeping him under the duvet to stop him from seeing what was going on.”
Peta tried to call the police from her mobile, but one of the intruders noticed and threatened her with a knife, jurors were told.
The robbers demanded to know where the watches were. They found a small safe and ordered Mark to open it, but was unable to because its batteries were dead.
He was then “subjected to more violence”, the court heard.
The burglars snatched Mark’s £400,000 Richard Mille watch, and Peta’s £300,000 Richard Mille watch. They also took the empty safe, three mobile phones and a Louis Vuitton suitcase.
The property has not been recovered.
Jurors heard phone records show mobiles belonging to Mr Henry and Mr Okorosobo were close to Mark and Peta’s house that night, and left the area shortly after the burglary.
Henry, of Lewisham, South East London, and Okorosobo, of Camberwell, South London, deny two counts of robbery.
A third man, Ali Sesay, 28, has admitted his part in the burglary after his DNA was found on Peta’s abandoned mobile outside.
The trial continues.
