Beckham jeans boss and girlfriend tied up half-naked in shotgun drama

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Robert De Keyser with former pop star Suzanne Shaw and, below, his girlfriend

A fashion tycoon who worked with Victoria Beckham on her range of jeans has been tied up and robbed at gunpoint during a terrifying dawn raid on his Chelsea house.

Robert De Keyser, 56, and his 22-year-old model girlfriend Ashly Rae were asleep when two balaclava-clad intruders burst into their £2million home.

Both were bound and Mr De Keyser was gagged and hooded before being forced to reveal the code to his safe.

The raiders escaped with a haul worth more than £100,000.

Mr De Keyser, a fashion agent whose Rock & Republic jean brand hired Victoria Beckham as a designer, only escaped two hours later after his partner wriggled free from her bindings and raised the alarm.

As police hunted the men behind the robbery, Mr De Keyser - who is also chairman of the company that runs the Miss GB contest - spoke of his shock at the attack. "Being confronted by a gunman in your own home is a terrifying experience,' he said.

"The effects are only just beginning to sink in. We're still very shaken by the events."

Ashly Rae has been in a relationship with Mr De Keyser, who is separated from his second wife Anna, for six months.

Ms Rae - who claims to have insured her 44in legs for £1million - was hired by De Keyser Fashions two years ago as the 'face' of Beckham's Rock and Republic jeans.

She is due to star later this year with Winona Ryder and Val Kilmer in Alpha Numeric, a film about human trafficking.

Ordeal

A friend of the family described the pair's ordeal, which started when Mr De Keyser was disturbed by a noise at about 5am on Friday. "He went out to the stairs and saw a man wearing a balaclava pointing a sawn-off shotgun at him.

"The man asked him whether there was anyone else in the house and Robert pointed to the bedroom where Ms Rae was sleeping. He took him in there, told them both to get on the floor and tied them up. They were semi-naked."

The couple were bound with belts, shoelaces and duct tape.

Mr De Keyser was also blindfolded and at one stage a hood was put over his head.

He thought he was going to be killed but the pair were left trussed up while the intruders ransacked the house looking for valuables.

Then, Mr De Keyser was grabbed again and, with the gun pressed into his back, was forced to tell the pair the combination to his safe.

The men stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery and foreign currency.

The gun-toting robber - who had a Liverpudlian accent - even gave a bizarre running commentary on his methods as he carried out the robbery, explaining: "I'm a professional, I have to do it like this otherwise I'll end up in prison. No one is going to get hurt if you do as I say."

During the raid he gestured at Ms Rae and indicated he would not assault her sexually, saying: "I'm not here for that, love."

The second man, whom Mr De Keyser never saw, called the other man 'boss'.

The friend said Mr De Keyser had told him he thought the robber might have been a former member of the Armed Forces or police, because of his 'calm and authoritative manner'. At about 7.30am, after the raiders left, Ms Rae wriggled free, staggered to a window and alerted passing dustmen. One of them rushed into the house, set them both free and called the police.

Mr De Keyser, whose fashion company has a turnover of £8million a year, believes the men had been watching his house for days before the raid. They were heard discussing the need to leave before the cleaning lady arrived at 8am.

Mr De Keyser was embroiled in the controversy over Big Brother contestant Danielle Lloyd, who was stripped of the Miss GB title last November for failing to declare a relationship with one of the judges, footballer Teddy Sheringham.

The organisers are suing Ms Lloyd for £100,000 for bringing the competition into disrepute.

Ms Rae was made a director of the Miss Great Britain company last October.

Last night, a neighbour, who didn't want to be identified, said: "The police told me that the robbers had gained entry by simply sliding a credit card through the door and unlocking it."

 

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