Mark Cavendish: Robbery at Essex home was 'planned invasion'

Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish and his woman were subjected to a knifepoint robbery portion astatine location with their children, a proceedings has heard.

Prosecutors accidental intruders made disconnected with 2 Richard Mille watches, valued astatine £400,000 and £300,000, pursuing the raid successful Ongar, Essex, successful November 2021.

Jurors were told 1 of the masked raiders threatened to stab the 37-year-old jock successful beforehand of his children.

Two defendants each contradict 2 counts of robbery.

"[It was a] well-orchestrated and well-executed planned penetration of the location of a well-known idiosyncratic with the volition of grabbing high-value timepieces," said authoritative Edward Renvoize, opening the archetypal time of the proceedings astatine Chelmsford Crown Court.

"It's rather wide the assailants were funny successful obtaining watches and erstwhile they got the watches they near the premises with precise small else."

Romario Henry, 31, of Bell Green, Lewisham, southbound eastbound London, and 28-year-old Oludewa Okorosobo, of Flaxman Road, Camberwell, southbound London, some contradict 2 counts of robbery.

Mr Renvoize said Mr Cavendish and woman Peta were successful furniture with their three-year-old son, connected 27 November 2021, erstwhile Mr Cavendish thought helium heard the sound of "male voices".

Jurors were told Mrs Cavendish went to analyse due to the fact that her hubby was recovering from a "number of injuries".

She heard voices appearing to travel from the room and was adjacent alert of figures moving towards her, the tribunal heard.

The suspects, who were allegedly equipped with "large knives" and wearing balaclavas, followed her to the chamber wherever they "jumped on" and "began punching" Mr Cavendish - telling him to crook his panic alarm off.

"One produced a weapon and threatened to stab him up successful beforehand of his children," said Mr Renvoize.

He said 3 masked individuals were asking wherever "the watches were" and collected their mobile phones.

The tribunal heard Mrs Cavendish kept her three-year-old nether a duvet during the ordeal to forestall him witnessing the robbery.

After ordering the gates to beryllium opened, Mr Renvoize said the intruders near with telephones, suitcases and the watches by 02:32 GMT.

The mates recovered their downstairs patio doorway was smashed.

The authoritative nevertheless said that Mrs Cavendish's telephone was recovered extracurricular the property, which was an "error successful what was a cautiously planned and executed robbery".

The jurors were told that Ali Sesay, 28, of Holding Street, Rainham, eastbound London - whose DNA was matched to Mrs Cavendish's telephone - had already pleaded blameworthy to robbery.

The proceedings was estimated to past 2 weeks.