Robber threatened to cut Ashley Cole’s fingers off with pliers during break-in

An aggressive robber threatened to cut former England defender Ashley Cole’s fingers off with pliers during a violent break-in at his home, a court has heard.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the ex-Arsenal, Chelsea and Derby left-back was led around the house in just a pair of shorts as intruders demanded jewellery in January 2020.

Kurtis Dilks, 34, is accused of being part of a four-strong gang who smashed their way into Cole’s home with a sledgehammer.

Jurors were told Cole and his partner Sharon Canu both had their hands bound by black cable ties, and the court was shown CCTV of the intruders leading the three-time Premier League winner up and down the stairs.

Watches, mobile phones, cash, a Gucci bag, headphones and a BMW smart key were all stolen during the break-in, the court was told.

Dilks is standing trial accused of robbing Cole and Ms Canu, as well as allegedly raiding the home of former Tottenham and Derby midfielder Tom Huddlestone with co-defendants Ashley Cumberpatch and Andrew MacDonald.

Opening the case against Dilks, prosecutor Michael Brady QC said: “During the evening of Tuesday January 21 2020, Ms Canu was at home with their two young children.

“Mr Cole returned home at about 9.30pm when they settled down upstairs to watch a film.

“Within a few minutes Mr Cole and Ms Canu heard a noise from outside the front of the house and placed the TV on mute to hear what it was.

“Mr Cole described the noise as vibrating up the walls into the bedroom and was sufficiently concerned that he checked the view of household security cameras on the app he had on his mobile telephone.

“The robbers were clearly not deterred by his presence.”

Mr Brady said Cole told his partner to call the police, which she did after hiding