Post by shayne on Jul 20, 2007 23:22:48 GMT 8
Kerry Katona and baby held at knife point by armed gang
Former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona and her baby daughter were held at knife point at their home by three armed burglars today.
The 26-year-old singer, her husband Mark Croft, 36, and five-month-old daughter Heidi were attacked at around midnight at their home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
The masked gang, armed with a sledgehammer, crowbar and large kitchen knife, held Ms Katona and her daughter in a downstairs room while her husband was taken through the house by raiders. The robbers then took Mr Croft back to his family before locking the trio in a room.
PR guru Max Clifford, who represents Katona, said: "Kerry is in a terrible state. When I spoke to her this morning she was in floods of tears and absolutely distraught.
"It was a terrifying experience. Luckily they weren't hurt, but Kerry was held at knifepoint and the robbers threatened to kill them. It was such a horrible thing to happen."
He told Sky News that the couple did have CCTV cameras covering the house, but the three men wore balaclavas and so would be hard to identify.
"I think one of them was holding a knife to Kerry's throat while the other two were running around the house picking up everything they could, all the valuables that they could," he said.
The family were left unharmed but the robbers escaped with around £100,000-worth of goods, including the couple's blue BMW, two laptop computers and jewellery.
A Cheshire Police spokesman said the family were left "extremely alarmed" by the ordeal. The family managed to free themselves at around 12.30am and contacted police.
The couple only moved to the £1.5 million property a few months ago.
Katona's two daughters by former Westlife star Brian McFadden, Molly and Lilly-Sue, were not in the house at the time as they were staying with McFadden's parents.
A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said they were keen to speak to anyone who had seen the car, registration MF06 KMM
A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said they were keen to speak to anyone who had seen the car, registration MF06 KMM.
She said the family were not arranging interviews through police and were not currently staying at the house.
Katona's next-door neighbour, Anne Pater, 55, said she was "frightened" and "scared" after hearing what had happened.
The housewife, who has lived in Carrwood Road for 14 months, said the area was a target for crime and she had already had her car stolen from outside the house and slabs taken from the top of her wall.
She said: "Police came to my door at 2am to tell us there had been an armed burglary at Kerry's house and to ask us if we'd heard anything.
"But we hadn't, maddeningly. These houses are so self-contained and we sleep at the back of the house.
"I'm a bit frightened and scared now - we'll be a bit nervous tonight."
She went on: "We had our car stolen from outside the front of our house a year ago and we didn't hear a thing, and we've had the slabs stolen from the garden wall.
"I think this area's a target because it's wealthy, the type of cars we have outside attract criminals, perhaps."
Mrs Pater sent her best wishes to Katona and Mr Croft and their family.
But she added: "There's never been a dull moment since Kerry moved in."
She said a number of police cars and an ambulance had been outside the house during the early hours. "It was bedlam out there, I could hardly sleep," she said.
Katona rose to stardom with girl group Atomic Kitten together with band-mates Liz McClarnon and Natasha Hamilton but left in 2001 after falling pregnant.
She married McFadden in 2002.
In February 2004 she won the ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! She split from McFadden in September that year.
She later met and fell in love with taxi driver Mr Croft and the couple were married on Valentine's Day this year in a small ceremony in Scotland.
The celebrity is also the face of the supermarket Iceland.
Former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona and her baby daughter were held at knife point at their home by three armed burglars today.
The 26-year-old singer, her husband Mark Croft, 36, and five-month-old daughter Heidi were attacked at around midnight at their home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
The masked gang, armed with a sledgehammer, crowbar and large kitchen knife, held Ms Katona and her daughter in a downstairs room while her husband was taken through the house by raiders. The robbers then took Mr Croft back to his family before locking the trio in a room.
PR guru Max Clifford, who represents Katona, said: "Kerry is in a terrible state. When I spoke to her this morning she was in floods of tears and absolutely distraught.
"It was a terrifying experience. Luckily they weren't hurt, but Kerry was held at knifepoint and the robbers threatened to kill them. It was such a horrible thing to happen."
He told Sky News that the couple did have CCTV cameras covering the house, but the three men wore balaclavas and so would be hard to identify.
"I think one of them was holding a knife to Kerry's throat while the other two were running around the house picking up everything they could, all the valuables that they could," he said.
The family were left unharmed but the robbers escaped with around £100,000-worth of goods, including the couple's blue BMW, two laptop computers and jewellery.
A Cheshire Police spokesman said the family were left "extremely alarmed" by the ordeal. The family managed to free themselves at around 12.30am and contacted police.
The couple only moved to the £1.5 million property a few months ago.
Katona's two daughters by former Westlife star Brian McFadden, Molly and Lilly-Sue, were not in the house at the time as they were staying with McFadden's parents.
A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said they were keen to speak to anyone who had seen the car, registration MF06 KMM
A Cheshire Police spokeswoman said they were keen to speak to anyone who had seen the car, registration MF06 KMM.
She said the family were not arranging interviews through police and were not currently staying at the house.
Katona's next-door neighbour, Anne Pater, 55, said she was "frightened" and "scared" after hearing what had happened.
The housewife, who has lived in Carrwood Road for 14 months, said the area was a target for crime and she had already had her car stolen from outside the house and slabs taken from the top of her wall.
She said: "Police came to my door at 2am to tell us there had been an armed burglary at Kerry's house and to ask us if we'd heard anything.
"But we hadn't, maddeningly. These houses are so self-contained and we sleep at the back of the house.
"I'm a bit frightened and scared now - we'll be a bit nervous tonight."
She went on: "We had our car stolen from outside the front of our house a year ago and we didn't hear a thing, and we've had the slabs stolen from the garden wall.
"I think this area's a target because it's wealthy, the type of cars we have outside attract criminals, perhaps."
Mrs Pater sent her best wishes to Katona and Mr Croft and their family.
But she added: "There's never been a dull moment since Kerry moved in."
She said a number of police cars and an ambulance had been outside the house during the early hours. "It was bedlam out there, I could hardly sleep," she said.
Katona rose to stardom with girl group Atomic Kitten together with band-mates Liz McClarnon and Natasha Hamilton but left in 2001 after falling pregnant.
She married McFadden in 2002.
In February 2004 she won the ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! She split from McFadden in September that year.
She later met and fell in love with taxi driver Mr Croft and the couple were married on Valentine's Day this year in a small ceremony in Scotland.
The celebrity is also the face of the supermarket Iceland.