16/07/2007

Kerry Katona held captive by armed robbers

Armed robbers have held former pop star Kerry Katona captive in her own home.

Three masked men, armed with a knife, sledgehammers and crowbars, broke into Katona's house in Wilmslow on Sunday night.

It is understood that Katona, 26, and her five-month-old baby daughter Heidi were kept in a room downstairs while the burglars took her husband, Mark Croft, 36, around the house looking for valuables to steal.

They were all later locked in a room, but Katona and Croft managed to free themselves and raise the alarm.

It is understood that around £100,000 worth of goods were stolen from the house, including the couple's BMW, two computers, two gaming machines, two televisions and jewellery.

Katona's publicist Max Clifford said that she was a in a "terrible state" and that it had been a "terrifying experience". He said: "When I spoke to her this morning she was in floods of tears and absolutely distraught.

"Luckily they weren't hurt, but Kerry was held at knifepoint and the robbers threatened to kill them."

Katona, who left the group Atomic Kitten in 2001 and went on to win reality TV show 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' in 2004, has two other daughters - Molly and Lilly-Sue - with former husband, ex-Westlife singer Bryan McFadden, but they were not in the house at the time.

Police have appealed for information about the blue BMW M5 that was stolen. The car, registration WFO 6KMM, is said to have distinctive trims and badges.

(KMcA/JM)


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