A gang has stolen more than 100 rare designer handbags thought to be worth at least £1million in a raid on a luxury home in the footballers’ enclave of Alderley Edge.
The burglary netted the thieves a haul of one-of-a-kind Hermes leather bags, including a £48,000 Barenia Kelly picnic bag, as well as a £30,800 Cartier watch and other jewellery.
The unnamed victim is offering a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone connected to the crime.
The burglars struck at a detached property on a leafy road leading into Alderley Edge, which along with Prestbury and Wilmslow makes up the so-called Golden Triangle of towns favoured by celebrities and sports stars.
The area’s residents include Erling Haaland, of Manchester City.
Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and his wife Coleen used to live in Prestbury until they moved to a £20million home they designed nearby, while David Beckham and Marcus Rashford are also former Golden Triangle residents.
The area is also popular with business tycoons, including members of the Kamani family, who own the fashion giant Boohoo.
Cheshire Police said they were called to reports of the burglary on Monday but believe the incident actually took place a week earlier.
A spokesman added: ‘On Monday, February 17, between 7pm and 11pm, unknown offenders gained access to the side of the property using a ladder and entered through a skylight.’
Detective Sergeant Laura Fox said: ‘Our enquiries are ongoing, and we would urge anyone who witnessed this incident or saw anything suspicious to get in touch with us.
‘The same goes for anyone with dashcam footage or CCTV which might aid our investigation. We also want to hear from anyone who may have information regarding the whereabouts of the items that were stolen.’
Luxury homes in the Golden Triangle represent high-value targets for burglars, and recent victims include Manchester City star Jack Grealish, whose home was broken into on December 27 while he was playing a match.
The midfielder’s partner, Sasha Attwood, and her family were at home at the time, heard a disturbance and raised the alarm, sending the raiders fleeing but not before they had taken jewellery and watches worth £1million.
Residents in the wealthy area are being offered dedicated support by rapid-response security companies such as Stopfordian, which focuses specifically on Alderley Edge.
With a 20-man response team, the company says it is able to respond in an average of four minutes.
The criminals responsible for these raids are believed to include foreign gangs that come to the UK simply to commit sophisticated burglaries, then fly home before police can catch them.
As well as Cheshire, such ‘burglary tourists’ – who even include gangs from South America – have targeted parts of London, the Thames Valley, Surrey and other parts of the Home Counties.
Burglars know how to defeat security systems, where to enter and which valuables to go after, it has been reported.
In one theft in Cheshire, two women flew in from Chile and targeted a property for designer handbags and jewellery.
Steve and Bernadette Pinkerton’s £3million home was hit by the pair in June 2023 after it had been scouted by a male accomplice.
The raid happened while the 62-year-old victims, who run a financial services company, were away on holiday.
Beautician Francisca Santana, 19, who claimed she came to the UK to watch the King’s coronation, and mother of three Rosa Dotes-Perez, 33, snatched items worth up to £15,000.
Dotes-Perez, 33, was jailed for 20 months while mother-of-one Santana was locked up in a young offenders’ institution for 16 months after both admitted burglary at Chester Crown Court.
Construction worker Jean Paul Pizarro, who is also Chilean, was jailed for 20 months after he pleaded guilty to burglary.
All three will be sent back to South America after their release.
Police have revealed that 300 Chilean burglary tourists had been arrested in just three years in the UK, with targets including celebrity chef Marcus Wareing and former Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
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