England cricket captain Ben Stokes has suffered a house raid as masked raiders broke into his home while his wife and two young children were there and he was in Pakistan for the test series.
The 33-year-old lost a number of ‘irreplaceable’ items during the raid including gold jewellery, a Christian Dior bag, an engraved ring — and his OBE medal which he received in 2020.
Stokes said his family did not come to ‘any physical harm’ in the raid but that it has had an impact on their ’emotional and mental state’.
The cricket captain, who lives in Castle Eden in County Durham, said the incident took place on the evening of Thursday, October 17.
The following day, England were beaten by Pakistan in the second Test, where he was criticised for his poor performance, with a top score of just 37 across four innings.
Stokes was in Pakistan until the conclusion of the third Test last week which England lost by nine wickets as Pakistan took the series 2-1.
England cricket captain Ben Stokes ‘ house has been hit by masked raiders while his wife and two young children were at home and he was in Pakistan for the test series
Ben Stokes pictured with his wife Claire after the NatWest PCA Awards where he was crowned Player of the Year
A golden necklace with a lion’s head which was taken from Stokes’ home during the robbery
The back of the lion necklace with the engraving: ‘Some may be better, but none will be braver’
An engraved England ring with set diamonds which was taken from Stokes’ home
In a statement issued today, the cricketer said: ‘On the evening of Thursday 17th October a number of masked people burgled my home in the Castle Eden area in the North East.
‘They escaped with jewellery, other valuables and a good deal of personal items. Many of those items have real sentimental value for me and my family. They are irreplaceable.
‘This is an appeal for any help in finding these people who carried out this act.
‘By far the worst thing about this crime is that it was carried out whilst my wife and 2 young children were in the house. Thankfully, none of my family came to any physical harm.
‘Understandably, however, the experience has had an impact on their emotional and mental state. All we can think about is how much worse this situation could have been.
‘I am releasing photographs of some of the stolen items – which I hope may be easily identified – in the hope that we can find the people who are responsible for this.
A Christian Dior bag which was taken during the robbery
A Diamond necklace which was taken in the robbery
‘Although we have lost cherished possessions, to be clear, my sole motivation in sharing these photographs is not the recovery of material items. It is to catch the people who did this.
‘Please come forward and contact Durham Constabulary on 101 quoting crime reference CRI00575927 if you think that you have any relevant information.
‘Finally, I want to say thank you to the police service. Both now and whilst I was away in Pakistan, their support for my family has been outstanding. They continue to work incredibly hard in trying to find these people.’
