A man has been arrested following a burglary at England cricket captain Ben Stokes’s home in County Durham, police said.
Stokes said his wife and two children were at their house in Castle Eden during the break-in on October 17 when his OBE and other valuables were taken.
Durham Constabulary said a 32-year-old man from North Yorkshire was arrested on suspicion of burglary overnight. He has since been bailed while inquiries continue.
Stokes was in Pakistan for England’s recent Test series at the time of the break-in.
The 33-year-old said his family did not come to ‘any physical harm’ in the raid, but added that it has had an impact on their ’emotional and mental state’.
Ben Stokes with his OBE for services to cricket which was stolen from his home in Castle Eden on October 17
England cricketer Ben Stokes and his wife Clare who was at home during the robbery
Stokes during the Second Test in Multan, Pakistan on October 17- the day of the robbery
In a report from The Sun, it has been claimed the gang organised the robbery by using video footage of Stokes showing a cameraman around the mansion.
This was part of a 16-minute film that was released on an Indian streaming app.
According to locals, more than half a dozen of the luxury homes in the area have been targeted by burglars recently but the latest raid has shocked many villagers into upgrading security overnight.
Details of the Range Rover theft were shared yesterday by neighbours, with one saying: ‘Apparently, they took the car and ditched it at the top of the village. It had a tracker on it and something cut out.
‘I believe it was a Range Rover or something like that and the tracker disabled it. The family keep themselves to themselves.’
One resident said: ‘I was quite shocked, to be honest. I only live just down the road. It came as a massive shock.
‘It is a quiet village. So when something happens on this scale a lot of people down the street have been installing CCTV
‘There has been a few burglaries before. But this happened and the next thing I woke up one morning and everyone had been down to Screwfix to buy CCTV.
‘I just heard it had happened to Ben and that is about it. I reckon it was because he was a celebrity and the fact he was still in the house when it happened was the shocking part.
Stokes’ wife Claire and two children, Layton and Libby, were at home when the raid happened
A golden necklace with a lion’s head was taken from Stokes’s home during the robbery
Stokes posted a statement on social media on Wednesday revealing the burglary took place
‘His wife and kids were there. Usually, this kind of thing happens when you are out at work or on a night out.’
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.
He released a statement and photographs of the stolen items on Wednesday, saying his ‘sole motivation’ for making a public statement is to ‘catch the people who did this’.
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.
A gold 4C pendant – the company which made the film – was another item that was stolen
An engraved England ring with set diamonds was similarly taken from Stokes’ home
A Christian Dior bag that belonged to his wife was another item taken during the robbery
‘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.
‘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.’
This is not the first time that England’s cricket captain has been targeted by thieves.
Last year, Stokes had his bag stolen at King’s Cross station in London after travelling from Cumbria to watch England play France in the rugby Six Nations.
He tweeted angrily at the thieves and thundered that he hoped his ‘clothes are too big for you ya absolute ******’.
