Mark Cavendish

Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish and his wife were subjected to a knifepoint robbery while At Home with their children, a trial has heard.

Prosecutors say intruders made off with two Richard Mille watches, valued at £400,000 and £300,000, following the raid in Ongar, Essex, in November 2021.

Jurors were told one of the Masked Raiders threatened to stab the 37-year-old athlete in front of his children.

Two defendants each deny two counts of robbery.

" [It was a] well-orchestrated and well-executed planned invasion of the home of a well-known individual with the intention of grabbing high-value timepieces, " said prosecutor Edward Renvoize, opening The First day of The Trial at Chelmsford Crown Court .

" It's quite clear the assailants were interested in obtaining watches and once they got the watches they left the premises with very little else. "

Romario Henry, 31, of Bell Green, Lewisham, south East London , and 28-year-old Oludewa Okorosobo, of Flaxman Road, Camberwell, South London , both deny two counts of robbery.

Mr Renvoize said Mr Cavendish and wife Peta were in bed with their three-year-old son, on 27 November 2021, when Mr Cavendish thought he heard The Noise of " male voices".

Jurors were told Mrs Cavendish went to investigate because her husband was recovering from a " number of injuries".

She heard voices appearing to come from The Kitchen and was next aware of figures running towards her, The Court heard.

The Suspects , who were allegedly armed with " large knives" and wearing balaclavas, followed her to The Bedroom where they " jumped on" and " began punching" Mr Cavendish - telling him to turn his panic alarm off.

" One produced a knife and threatened to stab him up in front of his children, " said Mr Renvoize.

He Said three masked individuals were asking where " the watches were" and collected their mobile phones.

The Court heard Mrs Cavendish kept her three-year-old under a duvet during The Ordeal to prevent him witnessing The Robbery .

After ordering The Gates to be opened, Mr Renvoize said The Intruders left with telephones, suitcases and the watches by 02:32 GMT.

The couple found their downstairs patio door was smashed.

The Prosecutor however said that Mrs Cavendish 's Phone was found outside the property, which was an " error in what was a carefully planned and executed robbery".

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

The Trial was estimated to last Two Weeks .

Source of news: bbc.com