Judge Susan Tapping, sentencing at Kingston crown court, said on Friday that the burglary at Terry’s home was part of a “carefully planned” series of raids by a gang who were “experienced, if not professional, burglars”.
She described it as “a very successful campaign” spanning seven burglaries in which £600,000 worth of goods were stolen.
They were carried out by four men, each with a long history of offending, who gave no reaction from the dock as they were jailed for between five and eight years each.
Four men who stole more than £400,000 of designer goods from the mansion of the former England football captain John Terry have been given long jail sentences for a series of raids on luxury homes.
Terry’s £5m home in Oxshott, Surrey, was targeted in February after the former Chelsea star posted pictures from the slopes of the French Alps where he was holidaying with his wife Toni, telling his 3.4 million Instagram followers that he was having a “great few days away skiing with the family”.
During the 45-minute raid, which began at 10.30pm, the burglars stole property including designer handbags worth £126,000, more than £220,000 of jewellery, as well as rare signed first edition Harry Potter books valued at £18,000.
“It might have been a mistake to post a family photograph on social media to show that he was away on holiday,” Tapping said. “His home was deliberately targeted and the master bedroom suite was ransacked.”
The judge said the thieves were “not content with the original haul” and so returned with an unidentified man “and an angle grinder, determined to get in the safe”. The noise, she said, woke the housekeeper and triggered the alarm.
All four pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit burglary between 1 February and 27 March this year. The burglaries took place in Surrey and Sussex.